Young America
by Cap55
Summary: "Tell me, Captain, how much do you love your team?" She asks "Lady, if you touch any of them." Steve threatens "Oh Captain, you misunderstand me," Amora interrupts. "It is quite obvious that you care a great deal about your team. But just how much are you willing to give up for them? "I would give everything for them," Steve says without hesitation. "Perfect" she smiles.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers, just some fan fic going on here. No money was made nor was any infringement intended, just a big fan :D

**Hey everyone! I have taken some of your suggestions to heart and I have done my best attempt to add some more descriptions to this chapter to try to set the scene more. I hope you enjoy! Thank you for reading! **

**Young America - Chapter 1 **

"Stop this madness, Amora!" Thor yells from inside the enchanted cell that holds him and his fellow Avengers.

The cell is located in the center of a vast cavern in the middle of a massive pillar. It is as if someone has removed a large slice right in the middle of the pillar and placed huge bars in between the two halves. The enchanted prison bars that rise out of the ground and up into the top half of the pillar are thick and pitch black with glowing flecks floating around inside of them.

The team had assembled to help Thor with an uprising in one of the realms, but it turned out to be a trap. They were ambushed by the Enchantress with her meaty bodyguard, Executioner and her army. The Avengers were overwhelmed with the sheer number of the enemy and they were captured. Now they are trapped and Amora has Steve.

"Your grievance is with me, Witch!" Thor yells again, becoming more and more angry as Executioner drags Steve by the chain around his neck over the stone arch that connects the prison to the platform that Amora stands on. He shoves Steve forward and forces him down to his knees.

"Oh, dear Thor, not everything is always about you," Amora croons as she runs a cold hand across Steve's cheek. Steve pulls away from her in disgust, only to be pulled back toward her by the chain around his neck. Steve would have considered hitting the lady, if she could be called a lady, if he wasn't being restrained by her bodyguard.

"Come now, Soldier," she whispers as she circles him, never taking her eyes off of him. "Don't turn such a cold shoulder to me. I can be quite…loving, when I want to be. Tell me, Captain, how much do you love your team?"

"Lady, if you touch any of them…." Steve growls as he struggles against Executioner's tight grip on his arms.

"Captain, you misunderstand me," Amora interrupts, still circling her prize. "It is quite obvious that you care a great deal about your team. But just _how much _are you willing to give up for them?"

"I would give _everything_ for them," Steve answers without hesitation.

"Steve," Clint warns, not wanting him to play the witch's game.

"I am so glad you feel that way," Amora hisses and kneels so she's face to face with the Super Soldier. "And because I am so generous, I am going to give you an opportunity to prove it. I have a little experiment that I need your help with, Captain. You see, I need something from you and since I am in possession of something you care so much about, I seem to be in a perfect position to ask you for a favor." She points over to the Avengers who are vainly pulling, ramming, and punching at the bars of their prison. "Do as I say and you have my word that no harm shall befall your beloved Avengers."

"Don't do it, Cap!" Tony yells as he uselessly fires another repulser blast at the bars of the cage. "Don't give her anything she wants!"

"They go free, no catches, no tricks and I'll do whatever you want," Steve agrees.

"Damn it, Steve, no!" Tony screams as he desperately rams his shoulder into the bars.

"I knew you would see things my way," she cackles and runs a cruel hand over his broad chest. "Oh, this is going to be so much fun."

"Do not go with her, Captain! She cannot be trusted! Her word means nothing!" Thor yells as he punches the bars again. Hulk is beside him trying to "smash" the bars in his anger.

"Don't have much choice, Thor," Steve calls as the Executioner restrains Steve's hands behind his back with another set of chains and Steve offers no resistance.

Executioner grabs onto the chain clasped around his neck and roughly pulls him forward, following the Enchantress up a steep staircase carved into the cave. At the top there is a flat stone platform with a strange statue of an unfamiliar creature and ornate carvings behind it that have been sculpted into the rock. Executioner forces him down to his knees again and secures the chain around Steve's neck to a latch on the platform so Steve is kneeling and his chest is pulled so low he is bowed parallel over the ground. Amora kneels in front of him and pulls his face up in her hand.

"Drink this," She orders and holds a small vial of a glowing blue liquid up to his lips.

"Let them go first," Steve glares from behind his mask. Amora simply laughs.

"You should have listened to Thor. My word means nothing, Captain. I say what I need to say to get what I want," Steve struggles, but Executioner grabs his face and Amora forces the liquid down his throat. Steve coughs and gags against the bitter drink. The Avengers are becoming more and more frantic in their escape attempts. Thor is grasping at the bars with all of his might. The bars begin to bend slightly and he continues to wrestle them with all of his strength.

"What was that," Steve demands.

"Nothing that will bring any harm," She promises. "You should be honored, Captain. You are helping me achieve something very important here that only you can do."

"Forgive me that I don't share your enthusiasm," Steve growls.

"Oh, but you should," She laughs and seductively traces the star over Steve's heart. "This spell only works with the most pure of heart, Captain. Your heart is pure, there is no doubt, but I need to take that purity to the next level. The price of great power is high and sometimes drastic actions must be done to pay that price. Let's begin, shall we?" the Enchantress smiles. She begins to chant something in a language that is completely foreign to Steve. It is certainly nothing from his realm.

A bright light starts to glow all around him and he can feel something strange well up in his chest. His arms go numb and the room starts to spin around him. Steve can feel himself starting to pass out when everything starts to grow dark.

In desperation, Thor gives one final push, holding nothing back, and wrenches the bars apart. The team rushes out and go on the attack.

Amora swings around and is nearly taken out by Thor, but Executioner is quickly between her and the Thunder god. Clint and Natasha fire their weapons at the body guard as Thor goes hand to hand with him.

Hulk goes after Enchantress, angry that the little snake of a woman locked them up. Executioner is struggling to protect Amora and fight off Thor and, on top of everything, Iron Man is heading their way and he's angry.

"Hulk SMASH tiny lady!" Hulk roars, sprinting toward Amora. She quickly jumps to the side before Hulk can grab her and he ends up planting his fist into the cave wall, firmly lodging it into the stone. Iron Man fires multiple repulser blasts at the witch and she rolls and dodges them.

"You were lucky today, Thor," Amora spits, taking cover. "But I will have what is rightfully mine. I will be back for your precious Captain." With that last threat, she disappears into thin air with her body guard.

"Steve!" Iron Man flies up to the stone platform to find the super soldier slumped over, still chained to the ground, with the side of his face pressed against the stone floor. "Cap," he shakes his still body with no response. Tony quickly cuts through the chains and Steve starts to loll to his side before Tony catches him and gently rolls him to his back.

"Is he okay?" Clint asks as he climbs the last of the stairs with Natasha not far behind. Thor is helping Hulk remove his fist from the wall.

"He's not responding," Tony answers and he places a finger on Steve's neck. "Pulse is thready and weak. We need to get him out of here." Tony scoops up the injured soldier when a bright light starts to shine again. It's so bright that the Avengers can't see anything and the light continues to intensify.

"Tony! What is this?" Natasha yells as she shields her eyes with her arm.

"I have no idea," Tony yells. The light is overwhelming and fills the entire cavern in a flash. As quickly as it came, the light is gone and there is only darkness left.

**What was the bright flash all about? What does Amora want with Steve? Check out the next chapter to see what is going to happen to poor Steve! Please feel free to Review - I am always interested in feedback, both positive and constructive. Thanks! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Young America - Chapter 2**

The Avengers all start to awake on the cool floor of the cavern.

"What the hell was that," Tony mumbles while he slowly rises up from the floor.

"A powerful spell," Thor warns as he stands. "Amora has completed whatever it was that she was planning."

"Is everyone okay?" Natasha calls out.

"Fine," Bruce confirms, now de-hulkified and looking around at his team. "Where's Cap?"

"Cap!" Tony calls out, but he's answered only by the echoing of his own voice. "He's not here. Where the hell could he have gone?" The Avengers spread out and start looking when Tony hears something shift behind them. Clint and Thor are at his side in a heartbeat, hammer and bow at the ready. Natasha stays by Bruce to protect him in his current, more vulnerable state.

Iron Man's repulsers glow, ready to fire at any second, while they cautiously move toward where the sound was coming from. Around the corner they are fully expecting to find Amora and Executioner or some kind of trap, but they are all shocked to see what is there instead: A small shaking child with his knees pulled up into his chest.

When he sees Tony he scrambles deeper into the small crevasse he has pressed himself into until his back is against the cave wall. He hides his dirty face in the large blue blanket wrapped around his small body. Iron Man powers down his repulsers and kneels in front of the small, obviously very frightened, child.

"Hey kid," he greets with shocking gentleness. "It's okay. We're not going to hurt you. We're the good guys." The child doesn't seem to believe him and tucks his head deeper into his shaking arms, teary blue eyes peeking out. "What's your name, kid?"

"What's _your _name first, Mister," the boy frowns, his voice quiet and shaking, but trying to sound brave while he peers out from behind his little knees. "You some kind of robot?" Tony laughs a little. Kid's got spunk.

"Tony Stark," He says with his hand extended. "And this is my armor. Not a robot." He takes off his helmet to reveal his face to the kid. "Very nice to meet you…." he raises an eyebrow and tips his head forward, waiting for the kid to say what his name is.

"Steve," the little boy finally answers and shakes the man's hand. "Steve Rogers." Tony looks at the blue blanket the boy is wrapped up in and and suddenly recognizes it as Steve's blue undershirt. He swings his head back to his teammates, each one of them sharing the same blank stare as Tony. Amora, the blue liquid, the chanting, needing to take Steve's pure heart and raising it up a level. What's more pure than Captain America's heart? Captain America's heart as an innocent child, untouched by war, loss, and the horrors that inevitably come from fighting evil. It all begins to make sense.

"I like your armor," the little boy comments, interrupting Tony's thought process. "Does it do anything cool?"

"It does lots of cool stuff," Tony nods. "I can show you later, but for now I think we should take you somewhere you can get warmed up."

Steve tries to hold back a shiver as he studies the man for a moment with suspicious blue eyes. "My mom says I'm not supposed to go anywhere with strangers."

"That's good advice, Steve, but you can trust us. We're the police," Natasha smiles and shows Steve her SHIELD badge. That seems to help convince Steve because the kid stands and slowly walks toward Tony and his friends. Steve stops in front of Tony and Natasha with the big, blue shirt hanging off his little shoulder and he stares up at them with a smirk on his face.

"Pick up the kid, Natasha," Tony orders with a fake grin, trying not to scare the kid.

"Me? Why me? You know I'm not good with kids," she insists through a smile of her own.

"And what am I, Mary Poppins?" Tony counters. "You're the woman. Do something...motherly." Natasha elbows Stark in the gut for that comment and he stumbles over a rock behind him, flailing his arms wildly as he falls. Steve laughs when Tony biffs it into the ground and the other Avengers can't help but snicker a little too.

"See? He likes you, Stark. He's all yours," Natasha smiles at Steve.

Tony struggles to his feet and picks Steve up under his skinny little arms and holds him in front of him like the kid is going to eat his face off at any second. A look forms on his features that looks like he just drank sour milk. Good grief he wishes Pepper were here right now. She knows what to do with these things. Steve sees the goofy face Tony is making and he giggles at him with a big grin on his face. Tony can feel a crack starting to form in his dislike for kids. Steve is a pretty cute kid. He's short and little for his age and he has huge blue eyes that squint up when he smiles. His tiny frame shivers and shakes against Iron Man's metal gauntlets.

"You cold?" Tony asks and Steve looks at Iron Man with those blue eyes again and nods, totally shattering his defenses, although he would never tell anyone else that. "Remember how I said my armor does cool stuff? Watch this," the Billionaire says with a smile and holds Steve closer. "Raise external temperature to eighty degrees." With the order, Iron Man's armor begins to warm. Steve puts his hand against Tony's chest and feels the warmth under his cold fingers. Steve smiles in amazement at the trick and curls into Tony's shoulder to soak up the warmth.

"I think you've got more Mary Poppins in you than you think, Stark," Natasha gives him a smirk with a raised eyebrow.

"Shut up," he frowns at her.

* * *

"Whoa," Steve whispers, staring at the huge jet in front of him. His little mouth is hanging open and his eyes have widened to twice their normal size. "Is that a plane?"

"It's a jet," Clint laughs. "The Avenger's Jet. That's who we are, kid."

"Av-Avengers?" Steve asks, struggling to say the new word and looking back at Clint.

"Yeah, we're super heroes," Tony winks.

"And you fly around in your jet savin' people?" Steve's eyes pass over each Avenger in wide-eyed wonder.

"Yep," Natasha laughs. "Have you ever flown in a jet, Steve?"

"No, Ma'am," Steve shakes his head.

"My name's Natasha, not Ma'am, Steve," she smiles as she punches Clint in the arm for laughing, but never turning away her forced smile from Steve.

"Nice to meet you Ma-….Tasha" Steve giggles, and Tony swears he sees the icy Widow melt a little as a more legitimate smile crosses her face for a moment.

"My name's Bruce," he introduces himself and walks up to Steve who is still in Tony's arms. "Very pleased to meet you, Steve." Steve shakes his hand and smiles in return.

"I am Thor, Little One," Thor smiles and tips his head. Steve mirrors his gesture and nods his head back.

"Clint," Hawkeye strolls over and offers a fist to Steve, but is confused when Steve flinches and recoils back into Tony's shoulder, covering his face with his arms.

"Hey, Steve. Clint's not going to hurt you. It's just a way to say hello," Tony explains and shares a confused glance with Clint. He puts Steve on the ground. "Like this," Tony takes his little hand and folds it into a fist. Clint kneels down and holds up his fist to him, slower this time, and Tony bumps Steve's knuckles into Clint's. "Knuckle bump," Tony says with a smile. "It's kind of like a cooler version of a high-five." Steve smiles a little and walks up to Clint timidly, holding up his little fist. Clint extends his fist again and Steve lets out another adorable giggle when he jumps to tap Clint's fist.

"Knuckle bump!" he laughs and goes down the line of Avengers and jumps up to bump fists with each of them before they board the Quinjet. Tony pulls out a blanket from the cargo bin on the jet and wraps it around Steve's little body until there's only his little face peeking out from inside the grey fabric. The blanket looks like it's going to swallow him, but he snuggles into the warmth and sits back into the soft, leather seat of the jet. Tony buckles him in and sits next to him. Clint is piloting and they're off the ground and on their way to their meeting point with Heimdall.

"So how old are you, Steve?" Bruce asks.

"Five and a half," Steve smiles and sticks his hand out from the blanket to hold up five little fingers. "My birthday is in a four months and then I'll be six!" Another hand pops out of the blanket and adds another finger to make six.

"Whoa, six!" Clint exclaims from the pilot's seat. "You're getting old. You think you're ready to fly the jet?"

"No, Clint!" Steve laughs and pulls the blanket up to his face. He quickly pauses for a moment and leans forward with wide, blue eyes. "Wait, can I?"

"Maybe when you're six," Tony smirks. Steve leans back into the chair and looks a little disappointed. "So, what do you do for fun, Steve?" Tony asks, not wanting to pass up a chance to hear more about Steve's childhood since the man hardly spoke about it at all normally.

"Bucky and I like to play! He's my best friend! We play kick the can, but he usually wins. He's a lot faster than I am. On Saturdays we sneak into the clubs to see the pretty ladies sing, but sometimes we get caught and I don't like gettin' in trouble." Steve frowns. Tony and Clint laugh at the thought of shy Steve sneaking into a club to check out girls.

"Where do you live, Steve?" Natasha asks, ignoring Tony and Clint's childishness.

"Brooklyn," Steve smiles. "I live in an apartment with my mom and dad, but sometimes I live with Bucky down the street. His parents are real swell and let me stay for a few days sometimes."

"Why do you live with Bucky instead of your parents?" Bruce asks curiously. Steve frowns a bit and he stares at the floor for a few moments before answering.

"Sometimes mom says that I need to go stay with Bucky because my dad is home," Steve says quietly, not sure if he should be telling them what his mom said. "I don't like it when my dad's home," he adds, staring at the back of the seat in front of him.

"Why not?" Natasha asks, sharing a glance with Clint, followed by another pause from Steve before he answers.

"He yells at my mom," Steve's expressions darkens even more at the question and he visibly retreats into his blanket. "He makes my mom cry. She tells me to hide in the bathroom, but sometimes he finds me." Steve is fingering the hem of the blanket and he gets very quiet.

"What does your mom do for work?" Bruce asks, changing the subject after recognizing Steve starting to retreat into himself and not wanting to pry too much into the man's past.

"My mom's a nurse and a waitress and she cleans houses. When me and her are all done with my school she sometimes lets me go help her clean."

A beep comes over the speakers on the jet and Steve is a little startled. He looks all over the jet from his seat, trying to find what's making the sound. Tony pats Steve's little knee to reassure him that everything is fine and he stands up to walk over to a screen on the side of a wall on the jet. He presses a button and an image flashes up on the screen. It's a man with an eye patch and he looks upset. Steve watches in amazement for a few moments before turning his attention to the clouds passing by his window.

"How mad is he?" Bruce asks when Tony returns.

"Well, he's not happy," Tony sighs and sits next to Steve who is starting to fall asleep in his seat. Tony tucks the blanket tighter around the little soldier and Steve shifts over and leans on Tony's arm, tracing the edges of the armor with his fingers before allowing his eyes to close. "His Captain was just thawed out of the ice last year and now we're bringing him back in fun size form. He wants us to bring him by the Helicarrier to have some tests run."

The Avengers land on top of the Helicarrier an hour later after arriving at their check in point and being transported back to earth by Heimdall. Tony gently scoops little, sleeping Steve up in his blanket. Steve buries his face into Tony's shoulder, smushing his cheek into the armor. They walk down the hall toward the medical bay and meet up with Fury and Coulson

"What the hell happened over there?" Fury yells when they enter the room. Bruce raises a finger to his lips and frowns, pointing back towards Tony walking into the room, holding the sleeping child. Fury pinches the bridge of his nose and repeats himself in a lower volume, but still angry. "What the hell happened?"

"We were ambushed and Steve paid for it," Clint answers in defeat and collapses into the chair at the edge of the room.

"The Witch, Amora, captured us and has turned our Captain into a child,' Thor starts. "She meant to do use him in some sort of ritual, but we were thankfully able to stop her before she was able to harm him. However, our efforts were not quick enough to stop her from casting the spell."

"How do we fix this?" Fury asks, turning to Thor.

"I do not know," Thor answers, sadly. "I have never seen this kind of sorcery before. It is from Amora, so no good shall come of it, but we shall find a way to help our Captain."

"How is he," Coulson finally asks, nodding toward the slumbering Captain.

"He seems fine," Tony answers, pulling the blanket back up around Steve's shoulders. "He doesn't seem to know that he's Captain America or anything past his current age. He still thinks it's the 1930's"

"We need to figure out exactly what we're dealing with here," Fury demands. "In the meantime, this whole situation is on a need-to-know basis. As far as everyone else knows, this child is under the protection of the Avengers for a high-profile official and Captain America is on a top secret mission reportable only to me. Until then, let me know what we find as soon as we find it." Coulson nods and Fury leaves as a nurse walks in. Tony gently pokes Steve in the side and the kid groans and frowns as he curls deeper into his blanket, trying to ignore the annoying poke.

"Hey, Steve," Tony says gently, setting Steve down on the hospital bed. Steve sits and rubs his face before looking up at Tony with tired, blue eyes.

"Hi Steve," Coulson greets with a big grin on his face. He's always idolized Captain America and he never dreamed he'd have the chance to talk to the man as an adorable 5 year old.

"Hello," Steve says through sleepy blinks.

"This is Coulson," Tony introduces.

"Hi Co-son," Steve greets through a yawn. "I'm Steve." The team smiles a bit at the mispronunciation of Coulson's name, but Phil doesn't care. He's just ecstatic that he's able to meet kid-Steve. "Very nice to meet you Steve," Coulson smiles. "I've got to go, but I hope I get to see you again before you leave." Steve waves goodbye and Coulson leaves.

"Where are we?" Steve asks, looking around. "A hospital?"

"Yeah, we need to make sure you're okay. This lady is going to help us, but she needs to get a little blood from you, okay?" Steve nods, fully knowing the drill after having been in the hospital so many times before despite his young age and he offers up his arm. He doesn't make a sound, only a frown accompanied with a small pout, as the nurse pokes the needle into his arm.

"You doing okay, Kid?" Clint asks, seeing the pout on his face. Steve nods.

"I'm fine," he mumbles, frowning at the needle in his arm. _Just like his adult self_, they all think to themselves. The nurse collects a fair amount of blood and hands Steve a large cookie. A big grin spreads across his face and he takes a bite. He offers a piece to each Avenger, but they decline, telling him that he should eat it.

"I've only had one of these twice before," Steve says as he chomps on the cookie again. "This one is the best!"

'What?" Tony asks looking at Steve in shock. "You've only ever had two cookies in your lifetime? And a _SHIELD_ cookie is the best you've had? Oh, we need to fix this." Tony gives Steve a goofy look and Steve giggles with cookie crumbs dusting his mouth.

"My mom was able to get me one on my birthday last year and one at Christmas time too," Steve smiles and he takes another big bite of cookie. "Those two were good, but this one is really good!"

"You only got a cookie on Christmas and your birthday?" Bruce asks with a frown. Steve nods simply with a big smile, not understanding how sad it was that he's only ever had 2 cookies in his lifetime. The kid smiles again and takes another big bite and munches away.

The nurse returns and takes Steve in to have a CT scan and a few more tests. He returns about an hour later in what is likely the smallest scrub top they had. Steve is still swimming in the baggy shirt and he has another bandaid on his other arm and another frown on his face.

"When can I go home?" Steve sniffs, rubbing his sore arm where they gave him an antibiotic shot. "I miss my mom."

The Avengers glance at each other with worried faces. Bruce steps up to the plate this time and sits next to Steve. "We talked to your mom and she's going to be really busy for a little while and asked us to keep an eye on you for her," Bruce says and puts an arm around Steve.

"My mom was real sick the last time I saw her. Does that mean she's feeling better?" Steve asks, perking up a bit.

"Yeah, kid," Bruce answers, feeling a little bad about lying to a five year old. "Yeah, she is, so we're going to take care of you for a little while until she can come get you, okay?"

"Okay," Steve replies, still sad, but a little happier to hear that his mom is feeling better. A few minutes later the dreaded nurse returns and Steve buries his face in Bruce's arm, trying to hide before she gently whisks Steve away for an MRI.

* * *

"This is ridiculous!" Tony yells. "Fury's going to hear about this and heads are going to roll!"

"Tony, calm down," Natasha scolds. "You'll wake the kid up." Steve is curled up and passed out in the huge hospital bed. Natasha pulls the light blanket up around his shoulder and smiles when mini-Steve sighs contently. Maybe this mother thing isn't so horrible after all. Clint catches her 'mothering' Steve and gives her a smirk and she returns it with a "don't you dare' look. Clint takes the hint and turns his attention to Tony who is pacing a groove into the floor. Thor and Bruce are waiting anxiously in the chairs next to the window of the room. Everyone has changed into their normal clothes and they're waiting for more results since Steve was snatched away again about an hour ago for another CT scan and more blood work.

"I will not calm down," Tony says, quietly this time. "They've had us here for the last five hours after a mission, they've poked more holes in Steve's arms than I can count, not to mention exposing him to enough radiation with the CT scans to turn the kid into a mini-hulk, and none of us have eaten anything. We're leaving."

"We need to make sure that Cap's okay before we go," Clint sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose and trying to reason with the angry inventor.

"And it's not x-rays that would make a Hulk," Bruce replies with a half-hearted response. "It would be gamma-rays. Don't let your frustration screw up your science."

"Not the point!" Tony replies and points at Bruce, beginning to yell again. "He's fine! So far _nothing_ has come back abnormal."

"He's five years old…when he should be 27….when he should technically be 95…," Bruce points out as he tries to wrap his mind around the ridiculousness of that statement. "Bottom line, he's not fine."

"You know what I mean," Tony replies, pointing at Bruce again. Coulson comes back into the room and can't help but smile at Steve curled up on the huge hospital bed.

"You've been sprung," Coulson says before Tony can get any complaining in. "Doctors say that they won't be able to get any more results tonight and he seems stable enough so you guys can go home, but you have to take these with you." Coulson hands Tony a bag.

"I hate being handed things," Tony answers flatly as he stares at the bag.

"You need to take it before you can leave," Coulson says with a raised brow. He loves harassing Tony and purposely handed the billionaire the bag even though there are four other people he could have handed it to.

"Fine," Tony rolls his eyes, grabs the bag, and starts gathering his things. "What is this?" Tony asks lifting up the paper bag.

"Inhalers for Steve's asthma." Coulson explains. "Steve's body is back to pre-super-soldier status, so you need to watch his health very closely and bring him in at the first sign of sickness."

"Great. Someone grab mini-Cap and lets go." Tony replies flatly, shoving the inhalers into his pocket. Thor walks over and gently picks up Steve and the kid wraps his skinny arms around the Asguardian's neck.

"Where are we going?" Steve mumbles with his eyes still closed and his head laying on Thor's shoulder.

"Home, Litte One," Thor answers quietly.

"Ready to go?" Clint asks.

"Mhmm," Steve hums. Tony calls Pepper to let her know that they're on their way back and to have her set some things up for Steve. He also calls ahead and orders pizza so it will be there when they arrive.

The team boards the jet again and Steve and Clint sit next to each other while Tony pilots this time. After buckling the kid in, Clint shows Steve how to play rock, paper, scissors. Steve giggles when he crushes Clint's scissors with his rock and Clint's face turns to mock-sadness before he starts poking Steve's ribs in retaliation.

They finally land on top of Stark Tower at 12:00am. Clint throws Steve over his shoulder and he lets out a delighted squeal as the archer spins around a couple times. Natasha can't help but smile at the man as he laughs at Steve's raspy little giggles. Clint sets him down on the ground and Steve toddles into the elevator and stands next to Tony, looking up at him and grinning a goofy grin. Tony lifts him up under his arms and lets him push the button on the elevator.

Pepper is waiting for them as they walk into the common room and she immediately melts over Steve as soon as they walk off the elevator. The tiny, blonde haired, blue eyed kid is just too adorable for her to contain herself.

"Steve, this is Pepper," Tony introduces. "Pepper, Mini-Steve."

"Hello Ma'am," Steve smiles shyly. He immediately likes Pepper. She has a kind face, a warm smile, and she's beautiful. She reminds him of his mother.

"Well, hello," Pepper grins. "Please, call me Pepper. You are so adorable!" She gushes again. Steve smiles and squirms a little in Tony's arms, his cheeks turning a little red.

"Here," Tony says and hands Steve off to Pepper. "He's sticky." Pepper rolls her eyes at Tony and takes Steve.

"Come with me. I have some clothes for you." Steve nods and holds Pepper's hand and he follows her into the bathroom. The two return with Steve in a set of Captain America pajamas. The delivery guy is just leaving when they walk in and the smell of pizza fills the kitchen.

"You hungry, Big Guy?" Tony asks and lifts Steve up into a chair. Steve nods.

"This is the most food I've ever seen!" Steve smiles and picks up a slice of pepperoni. The team laughs and talks and Steve munches away at his slice of pizza. He makes it through about 80% of a slice and sits back in his chair, full and content.

"Is that all you're gonna eat?" Clint asks, noticing Steve not eating anymore.

"I'm full," Steve nods and rubs his belly. For the first time, Tony notices how thin Steve is and wonders how much he normally got to eat when he was growing up.

"Do you want to color for a little while before bed?" Pepper asks. Steve smiles and nods. Pepper brings him into the living room and sets him down at the coffee table and shows him the crayons and a few coloring books that she bought for him.

"Thank you Pepper," Steve says with a big grin and dives into the coloring books.

"You're welcome," Pepper laughs and returns to the table. The rest of the Avengers finish off the pile of Pizza on the table and retire to the living room where Steve is busy coloring.

"Look Tony!" Steve smiles proudly and runs over to him. "It's you!" Steve holds up a picture of Iron Man he had colored and it was pretty good. Steve was only five and he had stayed in the lines and had even shaded a little and mixed the colors of the crayons to add dimension.

"Wow, kid, this looks great! You're really talented Steve."

"Really?" Steve beams.

"Yeah, this is awesome!" Tony praises.

"Thanks Tony," Steve giggles and hugs Tony's leg. "I colored it for you." Pepper almost melts right then and there and Tony rolls his eyes at her. Steve grabs another coloring book and some crayons and struggles to climb up onto the couch between Tony and Pepper. He leans on Pepper's arm and offers her a coloring book and a crayon and it's all over. She's gone, reduced to a total puddle of goo. She colors with the little boy and Steve starts working on a picture of Clint.

After about a half an hour later, Steve is leaning heavily on Pepper's arm while he half-heartedly colors in another page.

"I think it might be bed time," Pepper smiles and looks over to Tony and back down to Steve who is practically sleeping already. "He's had a long day."

"Tell everyone 'goodnight' Steve," Tony says as he scoops him up off the couch.

"G'night" Steve mumbles with his forehead pressed to the crook of Tony's neck. Pepper follows along to help tuck Steve in for the night. Tony sets the kid down on the bed and the little soldier looks at it and pats the smooth sheets and thick comforter.

"Is this my bed?" Steve asks sleepily. "Soft," he smiles a little.

"Yeah," Tony laughs. "This is where you get to sleep."

"Wow, this is the nicest bed I've ever seen. Thank you," Steve smiles honestly at the two of them.

"For what?" Pepper asks.

"For letting me stay here, for the food, and for helping me when my mom is away," Steve says as he lays down on the soft pillow.

"You're welcome, Steve," Pepper says and she melts even further as she shifts her gaze from Steve to Tony. "We're right down the hall if you need anything, okay."

"Goodnight, Steve," Tony says, ignoring Pepper, and pulling the blankets over the little kid.

"G'night," Steve sighs and is instantly sleeping. Tony and Pepper stand and watch the little sleeping soldier for a moment.

"He's so cute," Pepper sighs. "Can we keep him?"

"Now Pepper," Tony starts. "You know if you take one in he'll bring all his little friends and we'll be over run with toddlers." Pepper rolls her eyes at Tony and pulls him out of the room and back into the living area.

**Who would have thought Tony would be pretty good with kids. Cute fluff in the next chapter - thanks for reading! **


	3. Chapter 3

Young America - Chapter 3

Steve is up early that next morning and it takes him a second to remember where he is. The soft bed and huge room make for an unusual environment for him to wake up in. He quickly remembers and scoots out of bed and wanders into the living area while rubbing the sleep out of his eyes with the back of his hand. The living area is empty with a few blankets jumbled on the couches from the night before. The small child walks over to the huge floor-to-ceiling windows of the expensive penthouse and looks over the city. He gathers all of his coloring books and goes back to he window. Planting himself on the floor, he lays on his little belly and colors while watching the sun slowly start to rise just over the horizon.

"What are you doing Steve?" Tony asks and Steve nearly jumps out of his skin.

"I'm sorry," Steve quickly apologizes and scrambles onto his feet while backing against the window. He looks like he's in a panic and about to cry.

"Hey," Tony says quickly and kneels down by the small child. "You didn't do anything wrong. It's just really early in the morning. You don't have anything to be sorry for." Steve stares back at Tony with sad blue eyes and just watches the man for a moment before walking over to him and hugging his neck tightly. The older man gently holds the shaking child, trying to calm him down. He sets Steve down on the couch and sits across from him on the coffee table. He's calmed down now and he's sitting cross-legged, fiddling with his hands, and not wanting to look at Tony.

"Steve, why did you think you did something wrong?" Tony asks gently, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. Steve doesn't answer and just shrugs his shoulders, still focusing on his fidgeting hands. "You know that I wasn't angry with you, right?" Steve nods. "And that I would never, ever hurt you, right?" With that declaration, Steve looks at Tony with the same sad blue eyes that could break even the billionaire's heart. The small child nods once, his eyes never leaving Tony's.

"Hey," Tony starts and puts his hands on Steve's little shoulders. "You want to help me make breakfast?" Steve smiles and nods, more excited this time. He hops off the couch and follows Tony into the kitchen. "Are you ready, Little Chef?"

"Ready, Big Chef," Steve grins. Tony dons an apron and pulls one out for Steve. He has to tuck it up quite a bit just to get the bottom of the apron to sit above his feet. He tells Steve where the pancake mix is and he grabs it out of the cupboard. Steve helps him measure out the flour mixture and pours it into the bowl. They add the eggs and milk and Steve starts to mix while Tony starts cooking the eggs and bacon.

"That batter looks great, Little Chef," Tony smiles as he dabs some batter onto Steve's little nose.

"Thanks, Big Chef," Steve giggles and dabs some on Tony's cheek. Tony pretends to be sad and Steve laughs even more when Tony grabs him off the stool and rubs his cheek against the small child's face and smears the batter over both of them even more.

Pepper walks in to find the kitchen a mess and two flour and batter covered chefs standing in front of her. Tony though she might be getting ready to be mad and points at Steve, shamelessly blaming the kid. Steve notices the finger being pointed at him and points back at Tony with a giggle. Instead of getting angry, she smiles with the same gooey look she had last night.

"You two are way too cute," she gushes.

"Tony and I made breakfast!" Steve smiles. Tony and Steve clean themselves up while Pepper starts some coffee. Soon, the other Avengers, drawn out of their rooms by the aroma of breakfast, make their way down to the kitchen. Thor and Bruce are the first ones down. Steve runs over from the sink and giggles in front of both of them as he hugs Bruce's leg.

"Good morning," Bruce laughs and he knuckle bumps with Steve's little fist.

"Good morning, Little One," Thor booms and he lifts Steve easily into the air and onto his shoulder. Steve lets out a gleeful squeal followed by another adorable giggle. Clint and Natasha come in next and Steve scrambles down and greets the two.

"Clint, Tasha!" Steve grins from ear to ear as he bounces a bit. "Me and Tony made breakfast for you guys!"

"That's so nice of you," Clint smiles and he picks up the bouncing child. "Did you make sure Tony didn't burn anything?" Steve nods with a laugh while Tony stands in the kitchen with a displeased frown pointed at the archer.

The team sits down at the table and start feasting on the breakfast and coffee. Thor has at least 10 pancakes on his plate and Steve can't believe that the man is going to eat all of those and probably more. Pepper puts together a smaller plate together for Steve and he digs in.

"Great pancakes, Steve," Natasha says as she takes a bite. "Did you make these?"

"Yeah, thanks Tasha," Steve beams. "Tony helped me a lot. I really like cookin'!"

"Oh yeah?" Clint asks. "Are you going to be a chef when you grow up, Steve?"

"Naw," Steve answers and takes a big bite of eggs. "I wanna be an artist when I grow up. Bucky and dad say that art and cookin' are for girls, but I really like it."

"I think it's awesome that you want to be an artist, Steve," Tony replies.

"Really?" Steve asks in amazement.

"Sure, kid,' Tony smiles. "If that's what you want to do, then that's what you should do."

Steve thinks about this for a minute and asks to be excused. He climbs down the chair, drops his plate off in the sink and skitters into the living room where he picks up his crayons and some paper and starts drawing.

When everyone is finished eating breakfast Pepper helps Steve get changed out of his pajamas and into a pair of khaki shorts and a blue t-shirt. Once he's changed, Clint, Natasha, and Thor ask Steve if he wants to go down to the gym with them. Steve enthusiastically agrees and they all head down in the elevator.

Steve watches the three Avengers work out and he's amazed at their skill and precision. Thor is lifting weights on one side of the gym and Steve is pretty sure that the only reason he stopped adding weights is because the bar can't hold any more. Clint is running on the track. He is fast. He is really fast. Steve is watching him run lap after lap with no signs of slowing down. Natasha is at the target range, throwing knives into a target on the far wall. A small red beam of light flashes at her, trying to hit her, but she ducks and rolls skillfully to avoid the laser and she hits her target every time.

"Wow!" Steve cheers from the table he's sitting on. He stands and puts his arms up in the air. "You guys are amazing!" The Avengers blush a little and smile at the excited kid. "Thor, you're so strong! I bet you were lifting a kajillion pounds! How didja get so strong?" Steve flexes his little arms and doesn't stop talking to give Thor a chance to answer. "And Clint, you're the fastest guy I've ever seen! You just started runnin' and all of the sudden you were like, zoom!" Steve stomps his feet as fast as he can on the table, mimicking someone running. "And Tasha! You didn't get hit with that red light thingy once! You were so quick and you threw those knives so hard. You hit every target! That last shot was a doozie! I hope I can be as strong and fast and cool as you guys someday!" The Avengers laugh. Normally Steve is as strong, fast, and skilled as all of them.

"Thanks, kid," Clint smiles. "Well, if you're going to be a super hero someday you're going to have to start training. Are you ready?"

"Me?" Steve's eyes go wide and he starts jumping. "Now?"

"Yes!" Thor roars. "Come, Little One! We shall show you the ways of a warrior!" Clint wraps Steve's little hands and wrists with tape and points him toward the punching bag. He shows him how to hold his fists and how to throw a punch. Steve pulls his arm back like Clint showed him and throws his fist forward, hitting the enormous punching bag. The Avengers smile at the little punch and Steve grins proudly. The punch is a far cry from how the man usually sends the punching bag flying across the room, but it's pretty good for a small kid. Clint then shows him how to bob and weave and how to do some punch combos.

"Alright, kid," Clint says. "Now that you've got your basic skills down it's time to get into the ring."

"The ring?" Steve asks.

"Yep, are you ready?" Clint asks as he straps on a set of boxing gloves that are way too big for Steve before he straps on his own.

"Yeah!" Steve laughs and he runs into the boxing ring and starts bobbing and weaving like Clint showed him. Clint laughs and climbs in with the kid and puts his arms up and motions for Steve to do the same. He gets the hint and holds up his little fists inside the giant gloves. The two circle each other and Clint throws a couple pulled punches. Steve bobs and weaves and throws a couple punches too.

"Kick his butt, Steve!" Natasha cheers. Steve nods when Clint takes a step forward and Steve dodges a slow punch from Clint to spin around and punch Clint in the butt. Natasha and Thor just about fall over laughing when Clint stumbles forward from the little punch. He smiles sideways at the tiny boxer and he charges at him. Steve runs and the archer chases him around the ring. Steve laughs and squeals as he tries to out run the Avenger, but he's quickly scooped up by Clint and he sets him up on his shoulder.

"That was so cool!" Steve shouts. "Now those guys that pick on me and Bucky won't know what hit 'em."

"What kids," Natasha asks with a frown.

"There are some of the fellas that pick on me and Bucky. Me because I'm little and Bucky 'cause he's friends with me," Steve frowns and punches his gloves together. Clint is about to say something when Tony walks in to the room and sees Steve in the ring with the huge boxing gloves on his hands.

"Whoa!" Tony laughs. "You guys better watch out. You have a future Avenger on your hands." Tony winks at the ridiculousness of that statement.

"Watch this, Tony!" Steve says with excitement as he starts to throw punches and dips and ducks like Clint had shown him.

"You're the next Mohammed Ali," Tony grins. Steve beams, but has no idea who that is. "Want to take a break from boxing and hangout with me in the lab?"

"Yes!" Steve says enthusiastically. He pulls off the gloves and jumps to try to hang them on the hook. Natasha helps him and lifts him up to the hook. Steve runs off with Tony, but not before turning to Clint. "Thank you for showing me how to box, Clint. You're real swell" The archer smiles at Steve's 1940's slang.

"You're welcome, Steve," Clint calls after the two as they load into the elevator before turning to Natasha and smiling. "I'm real swell."

* * *

"Number 37," Tony answers without being asked and he lifts Steve up to hit the button on the elevator.

"What'cha workin' on?" Steve asks when they walk into the lab. Bruce is on the other side of the room, putting something together.

"Something for you actually," Tony answers, picking up something on the counter.

"For me?" Steve asks curiously.

"Yeah, just for you, Kid." Tony shows Steve a small red and gold watch with an image of Iron Man's helmet on the face.

"Whoa! You really made this?" Tony nods with a smile and he puts the watch on the Steve's teeny wrist. "I've never had a watch before. It's swanky."

"Watch what happens when you press this." Tony presses the button and the watch flashes and lights up. Steve flinches and laughs.

"How does it do that? I can't believe you made this. You must be the smartest guy ever!"

"Actually, he's _almost_ the smartest guy ever," Bruce smiles from his corner.

"Dr. Banner being arrogant?" Tony says in disbelief.

"Have to keep your ego in check," Bruce laughs. "Are you ready to test the laser for the new Iron Man armor?"

Steve's eyes widen. "Laser?" He remembers seeing lasers in the old space movies he used to watch, but he never thought they'd ever be a real thing.

"Yeah, you want to see it?" Tony asks and Steve nods as he starts to bounce a little with excitement. The two men set up the laser and start making adjustments and calibrations. Tony sets up the metal target at the end of the lab. Bruce hands out protective goggles to Tony and Steve before switching on the laser.

"Ready?" Bruce asks and Steve nods, hardly blinking. The laser fires at the target and starts cutting a small circle out of the metal. The metal circle falls out of the target, but the laser doesn't turn off when Bruce flips the switch. It starts burning through the wall.

"Turn the thing off, Bruce," Tony urges.

"I'm trying, Tony," Bruce answers, a little panicked, while he struggles with the laser.

"Any time now, Brucie," Tony urges again as he starts to mess with the control panel. Bruce is finally able to override the laser and turn it off, but not before the wall starts on fire. Tony runs over to the cabinet and grabs out a fire extinguisher and sprays the flames that are growing on the wall. The flames are out, but not before smoke fills the room and alarms are going off. Tony leans against a counter in relief, but the relief doesn't last long.

"Tony!" Bruce yells from somewhere in the smoke. Tony coughs and he and Bruce nearly collide with each other through the thick smoke. Bruce is carrying Steve and he's wheezing and coughing. Tony immediately knows what's happening and grabs Steve. They run out of the lab and into the elevator and he punches the penthouse number.

"Look at me, Steve," Tony instructs, trying to stay calm. Steve looks at him, his eyes watery from the smoke and his face is pale as he gasps for air. "Breathe with me, okay." Steve nods and Tony takes in a breath and slowly lets it out and repeats. Steve tries to mimic his breathing pattern, but the coughing and panic are making it nearly impossible. After what feels like an eternity, the elevator dings and the doors open. Tony scoops up Steve, who is becoming more lethargic with each passing second, and runs into the living area and sets him on the couch.

"Stark, what's going on?" Clint asks as he wanders out of his room at the sound of Tony's frantic entrance.

"Grab my jacket. Quick," Tony orders. Clint sees Steve and hears the wheezing and instantly knows what Tony means. He grabs the jacket off the chair and pulls out the small bag from the pocket and throws it to Tony. The inventor scrambles to pull the inhaler out and fumbles to uncap the medicine.

"Steve, when I push this button I need you to take as deep of a breath as you can, okay?" Steve nods and takes a breath with the inhaler. Clint is by his side in a split second and holds his breath with Steve. "Good. Now hold your breath until I count to 10, okay?" Steve nods again and holds his breath, but only lasts a few seconds. "Great job, Kid. One more time, alright?" Steve takes another breath with the inhaler and holds his breath again. "Better?" Tony asks.

"Yeah," Steve rasps as he tries to catch his breath, still a little shaken. Tony leans forward and holds his head in his hands and Clint flops on the couch in relief. Tony picks Steve up and gives him a hug and Steve leans his head into Tony's neck, still wheezing, but breathing more easily now. Bruce rushes into the room, sweaty and panicked, but relieved when he sees Steve in Tony's arms.

"Is he…okay…." Bruce pants.

"Yeah, he'll be okay," Clint answers and he leans his forehead on the palm of his hand. "What the hell happened?"

Tony starts to explain. "We were testing a laser in the lab with Steve and something went wrong. It wouldn't turn off and it burned a hole in the wall. Needless to say, there was a lot of smoke."

"Tony took…Steve up the…..elevator….and I just….ran up…..thirty…flights…..of stairs…." Bruce adds, still out of breath. "You need…a….second….elevator…."

"Easy there, Turbo," Clint raises a brow at the winded scientist and hands him a glass of water. Bruce downs the water and walks over to Tony and Steve. He listens to Steve's lungs and checks his heart rate.

"Everything sounds fine, but the Kid's exhausted," Bruce reports. Tony sits on the couch with Steve sitting on top of him, his head leaning on his chest. Clint is on the couch next to Tony and Bruce is sitting in the chair next to the couch. Tony flips on the television and turns it to some sort of cartoon. He has no idea what, he just wants something to distract the exhausted kid.

Steve jumps at the sudden loud noise on the television. He sits up a little and his eyes get wide for a moment and he stares at the cartoon. "Whoa, it's in color?" he whispers.

"Yeah, kid," Clint smirks. "It's the newest thing. Pretty cool, huh?" Steve nods. They all sit and watch the cartoon dog chase the cartoon cat until, one by one, each of them drifts into a light sleep. That's where Pepper finds them when she gets home from work later that evening. She brought home Chinese for dinner, but instead of hungry Avengers she finds them snoozing at 6:00 in the evening. She walks over and turns off the television when the adult Avengers start to stir.

"What is going on?" Pepper asks to no on in particular.

"Bro-nap," Tony answers as he stretches, careful to not wake Steve up.

"Steve had an asthma attack," Bruce answers, cracking his back. "It was pretty bad."

"Is he okay?" Pepper asks with concern, kneeling in front of Tony and brushing a hand across Steve's cheek.

"He'll be fine."

"Well, all of you have to eat. Did you have lunch at all?"

"No. We were going to have lunch, but then all of this happened," Tony replies. Pepper picks Steve up off of Tony and Steve lays his head on her shoulder.

"Steve?" Pepper says quietly. Steve slowly opens his tired eyes and lights up when he sees Pepper.

"Hi Pepper," He smiles and gives her a hug. "Clint, Thor, and Tasha showed me how to fight today and Tony and Bruce showed me their neat laser and made me this swell watch." The excited child holds up his wrist to show Pepper his watch. He gets even more excited when he presses the button that makes it light up.

Pepper smiles and sets him down at the table where Tony, Clint, and Bruce are already getting ready to eat.

"Wow, that's a really cool watch. I especially like the Iron Man mask in the middle," Pepper shoots a look at Tony and Tony shrugs. "How about some dinner?" Steve nods and picks up his fork when Pepper sets a plate of food in front of him. Dinner and the rest of the evening are uneventful, thankfully, and Tony and Pepper tuck Steve into bed early that night.

**Little Steve is so cute! Be sure to check out the next chapter for some good Clint/Natasha/Little Steve hang out time as well as a bit of Thor/Little Steve fun. **


	4. Chapter 4

Young America - Chapter 4

"Come_ on_, Tony," Clint presses. "The kid had a rough day yesterday and he's been stuck inside the Tower ever since…'the incident'. He needs to get out and do something fun. I'll bring Natasha with if it will make you feel better."

"No, that would _not_ make me feel better," Tony answers again. "It's too dangerous. Besides, Nat will be too busy keeping you out of trouble to keep Steve from getting into trouble and then you know who is going to be in trouble? Me. With Fury. When I tell him that his favorite spangly superhero was kidnapped by a crazed Norse witch because two master assassins were too busy making googly eyes at each other to keep an eye on a five year old."

"Never in a million years did I ever think I would see the day where Tony Stark was a wet blanket."

"I am not being a wet blanket," Tony counters with a bit of offense in his voice. "I'm just being cautious and making sure that Steve stays safe. He has an insane demi-god searching for him and she wants his heart for who knows what for and you and a kid running around the city doesn't sound like a good idea to me and, holy crap, I am being a wet blanket aren't I?" Tony suddenly realizes and his face falls into what can only be described as horror. Clint nods in agreement. "I sound like Cap," Tony rubs his hand across his eyes as Clint nods in agreement again. "You know what? Go. Do whatever is it that you wanted to do." Tony waves Clint away and Clint's face lights up into a big smile. "Just don't do anything that's too crazy and keep yourselves out of trouble and _keep an eye on the kid!..._ Holy shit, I just 'Captain America'ed" again. What the hell is wrong with me? The man is turned into a child for a few days and suddenly I start thinking and talking like him." Tony walks out of the room mumbling to himself about the ridiculousness of the responsibility coming out of his mouth and how he needs to go blow something up in the lab.

* * *

Clint quietly knocks and opens the door to Steve's room. The kid has been holed up in there all morning. The room is oddly quiet and Clint's instincts kick in and he is quickly on high alert. He rounds the corner of the hallway that leads into the main part of the bedroom. Tony's rooms are all huge, like hotel rooms, complete with a bathroom and sitting area. In the main area of the bedroom there are blankets propped up across the room. He can hear snickering from under the blankets and he's immediately at ease when he realizes what's going on. He is still startled when Thor and Steve jump out from a "door" in the blanket fort yelling "attack" while each of them throw a pillow at the dazed Archer, nailing him in the face. Steve nearly falls over because he's laughing so hard.

"Excellent ambush, Little One," Thor roars with a laugh and the two fist bump in celebration. Thor's laugh is quickly interrupted when a pillow is thrown into his face and Steve laughs again, but is stunned when a pillow hits him gently in the face too. They both stare at the Archer who is now standing in front of them with his arms folded with a smug smirk on his face. It's a full on pillow war as the puffy pillows are tossed between the two teams and Steve throws as fast as he can. Clint decides to rush the two with a pillow held up like a shield as he's pummeled with more pillows. He breaks through and grabs Steve up and pops him over his shoulder and spins him around like he always does and Steve giggles and hits Clint wherever he can with his pillow.

"Are you boys about done?" Natasha smirks, leaning on the wall with her arms folded. The three realize they're busted and freeze in mid-pillow hit and mid-spin. Clint puts Steve back down on the floor and turns around to face Natasha. "Don't even think about it, Barton," Natasha warns and a devious smile spreads across Clint's face. He quickly whips the pillow toward her and she gracefully dodges the hit and rolls to the ground, grabbing any pillows in her path before landing on a knee and skillfully launching each pillow at Clint's face, each one hitting it's mark, one after another, knocking Clint back into a pile of pillows. "Are we good here?" She asks and can't help but smile when Steve and Thor both roar with laughter.

"Yeah, we're done," Clint agrees from the pile of pillows as he fixes his hair.

"Did you tell him yet?" Natasha asks and she helps Clint get his hair back to his normal look. "Or were you too busy messing around?"

"I haven't told him yet," Clint frowns with fake sadness. "I was ambushed before I had a chance." He shoots a look at Steve and he hides behind Thor's leg and giggles.

"We have a surprise for you Steve," Natasha grins. "You want to come with us?" Steve nods enthusiastically and holds onto Natasha's hand.

"You want to come with, Big Guy?" Clint asks with a pat on Thor's shoulder.

"Nay," Thor answers. "Although it would be most enjoyable to spend more time with all of you I am needed on Asgard. I have been summoned to help research the spell that has transformed our Captain." Thor kneels down to Steve. "Thank you Steven, for showing me how to make the fort of blankets and for fighting along side me in the great pillow war."

"You're welcome," Steve answers and give the Thunder god a hug around his neck.

The two master assassins and the Mini-Cap make their way down to the parking garage where tony's multiple cars are held.

"Hop in, kid," Natasha smiles from the front seat of Clint's black Jeep. "We're going to go have a little fun." Steve looks at Natasha and Clint and hops into the back seat and fastens his seatbelt. He looks around the car and is startled by how nice it is inside. The seats are leather and the floor is carpeted. The dashboard has a bunch of buttons and the engine hardly makes a sound as they drive off.

"Where are we goin'?" Steve asks while he stares out the window at the city buildings going by.

"It's a surprise," Natasha grins again at the excited kid in the back seat. Clint pulls into a parking lot and the three of them jump out of the car. Steve's eyes immediately light up at what he sees in front of him.

"Wow!" he smiles and his eyes nearly double in size. "Coney Island? I never get to go here! Bucky and I saved up all of our money once and we came here for half a day and it was the best day ever!"

"Well, prepare for another great day," Clint smiles and throws Steve up onto his shoulders. "What do you want to do first?"

"Rides!" Steve shouts and throws his little arms into the air.

"You got it," Clint laughs and Natasha smiles next to him and grabs Clint's hand. The three walk into the park and go on ride after ride after ride. Bumper cars, mini-roller coasters, tilt-a-whirls, spinning swings, and the trains that run all over the park. Clint nearly threw up on the teacups when Steve and Natasha spun as fast as they could. That was a signal that it was time to take a break on the spinning rides for a little while.

Steve's favorite seems to be the go-karts. He and Natasha are in a car and Clint is in his own. They line up at the start line and Clint revs his engine and stares at Natasha, stone faced. Natasha whispers something to Steve and the little boy laughs. Clint frowns and before he realizes it the flag is waved and they're off.

Natasha takes an early lead, but Clint is close behind. Natasha is doing a good job of keeping Clint back, but the archer is fast and sneaky. He fakes out to the right and quickly goes left at the last second and he's now side by side with Steve and Natasha. The two assassins stare each other down in their go-karts and Steve is laughing and holding his hands up in the air. Clint swerves his car toward Natasha's and she defensively swerves to the side, causing her to slow down and lose ground. Clint quickly takes advantage of the mistake and speeds ahead, taking the lead.

Not ready to accept defeat, Natasha floors it and speeds up to catch up to Clint. Clint is on the defensive this time and he keeps Natasha at bay for a good while. They're coming up on the final lap and Natasha decides to make her move. The last turn before the finish line is sharp. Clint goes high on the road, trying to take the curve as fast as he can when Natasha suddenly drifts around the corner with surprising speed and the two are side by side again. Natasha looks over to clint and gives him a mock-salute while Steve waves goodbye and they speed ahead, taking the checkered flag. After the race Natasha and Steve walk over to Clint's car.

"You got beat by a girl," Steve grins.

"Hey, she's not a normal girl," Clint defends.

"Yeah, but you still got beat by a girl," Natasha teases back and her and Steve knuckle bump.

"Dude, what happened to bros sticking together?" Clint frowns at Steve.

"She's a better driver," Steve smiles and Natasha laughs. After the go-karts they decide to walk up the boardwalk for a little while when Steve's stomach starts to grumble.

"Are you hungry, kid?" Clint asks and Steve nods.

Natasha smiles. "Lets find you something to eat. What are you in the mood for?"

"Hotdog!" Steve shouts and bounces up and down.

"Why is that not surprising?" Natasha laughs. "Alright, hotdog it is." Steve, Clint and Natasha each grab a hotdog for lunch. Steve actually finishes the hotdog and when they're done eating they head down to the midway. The games are loud and there are lights and people everywhere.

"Hey, why don't we try this game?" Clint suggests. He gives the man a ticket to let Steve and himself play. "Alright, Steve. You have to throw this baseball to break those plates down at the end of the wall. If you break a plate, you get a prize. Got it?" Steve nods and throws the baseball as hard as he can. The ball hits the lower row of plates, but none of them break.

"I'm not very good at throwing," Steve frowns.

"Hey, that was a good shot, kid. You hit the plate, you just need a little more heat behind it," Clint encourages.

"My dad always wanted me to play on a baseball team, but I don't ever get to play because of my asthma. He was so disappointed," Steve kicks at the dirt as he rolls the baseball around. "Can we go play a different game?" Steve asks with sad blue eyes looking up at Clint.

"Yeah, kid," Clint frowns. "Lets go."

The three walk around and Steve plays a couple easier games. They decide to play a game where you have to spray water into a target to move your marker up the pole. Steve sits in Natasha's lap, helping her to aim the water gun. The buzzer sounds and the two of them fire the gun and their marker races up the pole. The lights flash and spin showing that they won. They pick out a brown stuffed bunny and Natasha hands it to Steve who hugs it close before walking on to the next game.

On the way down the boardwalk Steve notices a little girl crying with her mom. Clint and Natasha have stopped at a game that Clint is going to play to try and win Natasha a teddy bear. Steve hands the bunny to Natasha and walks over to the little girl.

"What's wrong?" Steve asks shyly as he walks up to the little girl.

"I dropped my prize that my mom and I won playing the games," she sniffs and points into the water below. Steve looks over the ledge of the boardwalk and sees the rocky waves crashing beneath them, but no sign of the lost prize.

"Wait here," Steve says and he wanders over to Natasha who is now holding a large teddy bear that Clint won for her. Steve takes his stuffed bunny and walks back to the girl. He holds it behind his back before he reveals it and hands it to the little girl.

"Clint," Natasha smiles looking at Steve and elbows the Archer in the arm. "Look." She tips her head toward Steve and they watch the kid give his stuffed bunny to the little girl. She takes it and gives it a big hug before hugging Steve. His little cheeks go bright red. The mother shakes his little hand and Natasha can just imagine him calling her 'ma'am' right at that instant.

"Holy crap, he's still Captain America even when he's 5 years old," Clint mutters while he watches Steve wander back toward them. Natasha just smiles and laughs a little. The woman with the girl walks up to Clint and Natasha just as Steve had made it back to them.

"You've raised a very sweet boy," the woman starts. "You must be great parents. Ally was so sad when her toy fell over into the water, but Steve just completely made her day."

"Oh, thank you," Clint smiles awkwardly and is uncharacteristically frazzled, not knowing how to react. Natasha swears that she sees the archer blush.

"We're very proud," Natasha answers cooly. The woman thanks Steve again and leaves with her daughter. The three Avengers walk back down the boardwalk and Clint notices Steve eyeing a big stuffed dog at one of the games. Clint curves around to the game and gives the man running the booth a ticket.

"Are you going to play this game?" Steve asks, standing next to Clint to watch.

"Yup, I think I can win this one," Clint smiles. The game is darts. He has three darts and he has to throw at the targets. Each target is worth points and he has to get 50 points to win. There is a tiny target that is the farthest away from the front of the booth that is worth an instant 50 points. Clint lines up his shot and launches the dart down the booth, hitting the target square in the center.

"Winner!" The man running to booth announces as the alarms and lights flash. "That was impressive!"

"It was a lucky shot," Clint shrugs off.

"Wow, that was amazing!" Steve throws his arms in the air in amazement and he and Clint fist bump.

"Which prize do you want?" The man asks.

"The dog," Clint points to the brown dog that Steve was looking at. The man reaches the big animal down and hands it to Clint who hands it to Steve. "For you, kid," Steve's eyes get big as he holds the big stuffed animal that's nearly half his height.

"Really?" Steve asks with big blue eyes, looking at Clint. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, kid," Clint smiles. "He's all yours."

"Holy smokes," Steve smiles. "Thanks Clint!" The small kid jumps into Clint's arms and gives him a big hug.

"You're welcome, Kid." Natasha shoots him a fake mushy look and Clint shoots her a frown in return. He puts Steve down and he picks up the big dog off the ground and gives it a big hug. He insists on hauling it down the boardwalk by himself and throws it on his shoulders. Clint and Natasha walk hand in hand toward the car, keeping Steve in front of them and in their sight.

"Thanks for taking me to Coney Island," Steve says when they arrive at the car and Clint buckles Steve into the back seat, still hugging the stuffed dog. "And for the hotdog and for going on rides with me and for just hanging out with me."

"No problem, Kid," Clint smirks. "We had fun hanging out with you too." Steve smiles the biggest smile he's had yet.

* * *

"You three were gone for a long time. Did you guys have fun?" Tony asks when Natasha walks through the door with a giant stuffed bear. Clint follows in soon after, holding Steve who is totally passed out with the big stuffed dog held close. "I'll take that as a yes." Tony smirks.

"Here, take the kid," Clint says, handing Steve over to Tony. "I've had to take a leak since we left Coney." Tony takes Steve and the dog and lays them both on the couch. The kid is so tired he barely stirs at all when Tony sets him down and throws a blanket over him.

Steve naps for almost an hour before Pepper comes home with dinner. "Hey, Big Guy," Tony whispers and he gently shakes the kid a little to wake him up. Steve stirs and rubs his eyes with one hand and squishing the stuffed dog with the other as he stretches.

"Hey, Tony," Steve greets with sleepy eyes.

"Hey, Steve. Did you have fun with Clint and Natasha?"

"Yeah, real swell," Steve smiles and instantly comes to life out of his sleepy daze at the mention of the fun day. "We rode on a bunch of rides and Clint almost threw up. Then Tasha and I drove real fast in a race car. She beat Clint in the race and then she bought me a hotdog and we played games and Clint won me this." Steve holds up the stuffed dog to show Tony. The inventor takes the dog from Steve and looks it over before handing it back to the kid.

"Sounds like you guys had a lot of fun," Tony laughs. "Pepper brought home burgers for dinner. Are you hungry?" Steve nods and Tonys scoops him up off of the couch, stuffed dog and all, and pops him into a chair at the table. Steve puts the dog on the floor next to him and chows down on the burgers Pepper picked up for them. Clint and Natasha join them and they all laugh when they recount the day with Tony and Pepper. Steve makes it through about half his burger before he throws a fry down to his dog, deciding that he wants to share.

"All finished?" Pepper asks Steve and he nods.

"Good," Tony claps his hands together before picking Steve up. "Because you and I are going to hangout tonight."

"Really? Just you and me!?" Steve puts his hands on Tony shoulders and looks at him in the eye with a big smile.

"Yup, just you and me."

"Yeah!" Steve cheers and hugs Tony.

* * *

Tony and Steve walk into a little shop, Steve's toy dog in tow, and the first thing Steve sees is a huge glass case filled with all sorts of delicious looking desserts. There are cupcakes, brownies, pies, and pastries, all looking sweet and decadent, but the only dessert Steve has eyes for are the huge cookies on one end of the case. He runs up to the display and stares at the round, golden desserts.

"Which one do you want?" Tony asks, laughing at the completely dumbfounded look on Steve's face. The billionaire is sure that this is the most desserts that Steve has ever seen in his short life and probably the best tasting based on his assessment of the SHIELD cookie a couple of days ago.

"That one," Steve points to a particularly large chocolate chip cookie in the back. Tony asks the lady at the counter for the cookie and for a banana split for him along with a glass of milk for Steve. The two of them sit down at a table and eat their desserts together. Tony gives Steve some of his banana split and Steve shares his cookie with him in return.

"_This _is the best cookie I've ever had," Steve smiles and takes another big bite.

"That's right it is," Tony scruffs up Steve's hair and the kid scrunches his nose and laughs. Despite Steve's normally low appetite, he finishes the cookie in record time.

"That was so good. Thank you for the cookie, Tony."

"No problem kid. Are you ready to go home?" Steve nods and hops off the chair and holds Tony's hand. The two make their way to the door when sudden flashes start to strobe in front of them. Steve jumps back behind Tony's leg, startled by the bright lights. When they step outside they're instantly swarmed by people and cameras and people are asking Tony questions.

"Who's the kid Stark?"

"Is he yours?"

"He's a doll, Tony! Who's the mom?"

"Have you and Pepper finally decided to start a family?"

"What's the kid's name, Tony?"

"Are you adopting?"

"How old is he?"

Tony holds his hands up to try to calm the media down. "He's not my kid," Tony assures the reporters and he's trying to come up with a believable story to keep this from getting out of hand. "I have friends who are visiting from out of town and this is their son. We're just out getting some dessert." _That was pretty good for an on-the-spot explanation_ Tony thinks to himself.

More questions are thrown at the billionaire, but he decides the Q and A is over when they cross the line and try to coax Steve out and the kid ducks deeper behind Tony's leg.

"Alright, we're done here," Tony ends the conversations and scoops Steve up and holds him protectively and grabs his stuffed animal off the ground. The trembling child buries his head into Tony's shoulder and wraps his arms around his neck, holding on as if his life depended on it.

"Hey! Seriously! You're freaking out the kid!" Tony shouts and quickly walks down the street back toward the tower. A few of the bolder, or as Tony calls them, 'asshole', reporters aggressively follow them. "Hey, I said this is over. Back off!' Tony orders as he spins around to confront them. The reporters freeze in their tracks and quickly turn tail and run back down the road. Tony is a little shocked that his outburst got such a reaction, but he's satisfied that they finally broke off their pursuit. That satisfaction quickly disappears when he turns around to see what really caused the reporters to retreat.

"Hello Iron Man," Amora smiles. "Or should I just call you Tony for now since you're not looking very invincible at the moment?"

"What do you want, Witch?" Tony sneers as he holds Steve closer.

"I'm here to collect what is rightfully mine," she hisses, eyeing Steve.

"He's _not_ yours," Tony firmly states and presses a button on his bracelet. Before Amora can say anything, Tony runs Steve over to a alley and sets him down behind him, handing him his dog. He quickly turns and the armor flies onto his body. "Avengers, Assemble!" He orders through the communication link on his helmet as his armor comes online. The first thing he sees when his view screen comes online is an axe flying toward him. Executioner hits him square in the chest and sends him flying up the road before crashing to the ground. Amora sends electricity from her hands into Tony's armor and it temporarily goes offline.

"He _is_ mine," Amora assures the fallen Avenger. "And now there's nothing to stop me from taking him," she laughs. Executioner comes up to Tony and raises his axe, poised to strike a finishing blow.

"No!" Steve shouts, stepping out from the safety of the alley. "Leave him alone!"

"No, Steve! Run!" Tony yells at him, but the kid is frozen where he stands.

"Oh child," she smirks. "So heroic even at such a young age. Go get him," she orders Executioner. The bodyguard turns his attention from Tony and starts toward Steve.

"No! JARVIS! Reboot! Reboot, damn it!" Tony yells, frantic and helpless to protect Steve, but there's no response from the AI. Tony can hear Steve yelling and crying. "JARVIS!" The armor flickers and suddenly comes to life and Tony is immediately on his feet. He furiously searches for Steve until his eyes land on his target.

"Put. Him. Down." Tony orders with his repulsers aimed at the beast holding Steve in the air by the arm while the kid kicks and punches at the much larger man. Amora stands to Iron Man's left, ready to attack again, but Tony never takes his eyes of Executioner and Steve.

An earth shattering thud lands next to Tony between him and Amora. "Hey, Big Green," Tony greets with a hint of relief in his voice. "Just in time to join the party." Hulk grunts at Tony's remark and just wants another chance to smash Amora.

"Can we join in too or is this a private affair?" Clint asks, jumping down onto a building from the Quinjet that Natasha is piloting. The Widow aims the heavy artillery weapons on the jet at the two hostiles.

Clint raises his bow and keeps it firmly aimed at Executioner, ready to loose the arrow at the first sign of trouble. Executioner throws Steve roughly to the side and turns his attention to the Avengers.

"Oh, you're going to regret that, Tiny," Clint glares and sends an explosive arrow at Executioner, hitting his target square in the chest and causing him to take a step back. Hulk immediately takes that as a signal to attack and charges the Enchantress. She does her best to hold the beast off, but she's no match against him, even with her magic. Natasha open fires on the two and bullets rain down on them.

"You like hurting little kids you pathetic piece of shit?" Tony yells as he fires repulser blast after blast at the monster that hurt Steve. "How about I show you how it feels to get your ass handed to you by someone stronger than you!" Tony lands in front of him and sends a left and right hook into Executioners face before he ducks as the larger man's fist takes a swing of his own. With his anger blazing, Tony sends a powerful uppercut into the Executioner's jaw and sending him shooting into the air.

"Executioner!" Amora calls out and he quickly tries to make it to her side. The two are sent flying back again by Iron Man's repulsers. "You can't watch him forever," Amora growls while she picks herself off the street. "You will let your guard down again and I'll be there when you do." The two slowly fade away and disappear as they did before. "I will have what is mine!"

"Steve?!" Tony yells and searches for the kid. "Steve!" He runs over to where the Executioner was holding him and searches frantically. He finds his stuffed dog laying in the alley where he had first set him down. The other Avengers rush over and help Tony look.

"Tony!" Clint yells and Tony rushes over to his side. Steve is hiding in a small space between a stone wall of a building and a stoop leading into the building. His back is propped up against the wall with his knees close to his chest and his head resting against the stoop, just like how the first found him in the cave. His eyes are closed and he's wheezing roughly.

"Steve," Tony scoops the lethargic kid up and Steve winces, holding his arm close.

"Sir, Captain Rogers' arm appears to have a serious fracture," JARVIS reports. "I would highly suggest transporting him to emergency medical."

"Hey, Kid,' Tony looks at the tiny child in his arms. "Can you hear me?" Steve's eyes open slightly and he nods a little before he curls into Tony's chest. "Good, stay with me, okay?" The team quickly piles into the Quinjet and rush to the Helicarrier.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey everyone! Sorry it's taken me so long to update! Thank you so much for all your kind words and feedback - I really appreciate it! This chapter is a little darker as we find out more about Steve's past and what Amora's plans are. Also, I've tweaked some Norse mythology for the sake of the story line. The basic premise of the characters is true to the legends, but I've taken creative liberties with some things. Future chapters will be more fluffy. I've got a couple ideas that I think you guys will really like.  
As always, please feel free to rate and review - I'm always interested in hearing both positive comments as well as constructive criticism. Thank you! **

**Young America Chapter 5**

The Avengers rush to the Helicarrier and they're instantly swarmed by medical staff. The nurses rush out to collect Steve to get his breathing stabilized and to set his arm, but the kid holds onto Tony for dear life. Even with his broken arm, his little hands latch onto the cold armor.

"I don't want to go," Steve is crying so hard he's hyperventilating. "I want to stay with you. Please, don't let them take me, Tony!" The nurse tries to pull Steve off of Tony, but the kid hangs on tight.

"Whoa, hold on, give the kid a second here. Just back off," Tony snaps as Steve whimpers and hides his face in Tony's shoulder.

"Stark, they need to take him back to stabilize him," Fury walks in from the hallway to the medical bay after being alerted of the situation. Tony rolls his eyes and sighs, frustrated because he knows Fury is right.

"Steve," He looks at the shaking kid with his head pressed against his armor. "I need you to go with these people so they can help you." Steve shakes his head and tightens his grip on Tony. His breathing is getting more and more ragged and the nurse looks at Fury with an urgent glance.

"Stark, they need to take him," Fury nods to the nurse and she peels Steve off of the Iron Avenger as carefully as she can and starts to carry him back.

"Tony! Help!" Steve struggles to free himself from the nurse's grip and stares at Tony with tears streaming down his face from his blue eyes that plead for the man to come and save him.

"Can I come with him?" Tony asks as he takes a step to follow the nurse down the hall.

"No, sir," another nurse stops him and Tony watches helplessly again as Steve is taken away from them. "We need to get him stabilized and then we can talk about visiting."

"Tony! Tony please help me!" Steve's terrified voice is echoing down the halls of the medical bay and Tony can't do anything about it.

"The kid was just attacked. He's hurt and scared and he just wants someone he knows with him. I'm going back there," Tony yells as he tries to rush down the hall, but the nurse is persistant.

"The best thing for him is for you to stay out here and stop fighting me so I can go help," the nurse blocks him again. Tony looks like he's about ready to throw down with the woman when Fury steps in.

"Tony, I know you're worried, but you need to stand down." Tony stares the man down for a moment before he lets out a frustrated growl and backs off. The nurse rushes back down the hall and Tony scrubs his hands over his face. He paces across the waiting room, walking back and forth and back and forth over and over and over again.

An hour later, the man is still pacing. Clint can't take it anymore. "Tony! You need to cool it. You're making me nervous. Sit down and relax for a second."

"Relax?" Tony repeats, not stopping his aggravated pace. "You're asking me to relax after I just did exactly what I told you not to do this morning? I should never have taken him out of the tower. I put him in danger because I had to take him to get a damn cookie. Now he's in the hospital with a broken arm because he was trying to protect me from that piece of trash instead of me protecting him." he sighs and throws his fist against the wall.

"He'll be okay, Tony," Natasha reasons. "He's a lot stronger than you give him credit for."

Tony is about to reply when a doctor walks into the room and everyone immediately turns their attention to her. "We were able to get him to calm down so we could stabilize his breathing. He's resting now, but his arm has a serious fracture," she says bluntly. She knows they just want answers, no fluff or pleasantries. "We've set the bone and placed a cast, but there's some other concerning things we found."

"What is it? Has something changed?" Tony asks, trying to hide his concern.

"Nothing new," the doctor explains. "Rather, something old." The Avengers give her a sideways glance. "We took x-rays of Steven and we found an old fracture on his arm on top of the one he sustained today. We were suspicious and took a couple more radiographs and found more old fractures on his ribcage and leg. I know that you are protecting him for a high profile official, but in my medical opinion, this child has been physically abused." The statement hits the Avengers like a ton of bricks. They're silent for a long while before Natasha steps in to answer.

"We'll take your medical opinion into consideration and handle it accordingly," she answers stone faced and trying not to let her emotions show.

"Can we see him?" Tony asks.

"I can take you in now. He's tired from the pain medication we gave him and we want him to sleep for the rest of the night if he will, so no distractions for him." The Avengers nod in agreement and the doctor leads them into the room where Steve is sleeping.

The lights are dim and Steve is resting on his side on top of the blankets in the large hospital bed with an oxygen mask that's too big for him attached to his little face. For the second time in a few days the kid is in the hospital, this time with his little arm wrapped in a blue cast. The Avengers each grab a chair while Pepper faces Steve and lays next to him on the hospital bed. The bed has more than enough room with Steve's small frame barely taking up any space. Steve opens his eyes slightly and sees Pepper. She smiles and lays Bart, his stuffed dog, next to him. Steve had decided to name him Bart in honor Clint's last name since he's the one who won it for Steve.

The kid sets his broken arm on Bart to give him a sad attempt at a hug before closing his eyes and going back to sleep. Pepper scoots closer to Steve and gently brushes his messy blonde hair back. "Did any of you know about Steve's childhood?"

"No idea," Tony answers and everyone else nods in agreement. "Steve never talks about growing up or his father. This would explain why."

"It makes me sick," Clint whispers. His head is low and his elbows are resting on his knees with his hands twisting tightly together while he remembers his own abusive childhood.

"I can't believe, as an adult, he's never said anything," Bruce sighs. "I know we've been suspicious with his behavior over the last couple days, but I never thought it was bad enough that he would have old fractures at age 5."

"Steve grew up in a different time," Natasha frowns. "He keeps things like this to himself. To him it's a weakness and a memory that he has to carry on his own."

"Not anymore. We're going to be here to walk him through it every step of the way," Tony swears and the other Avengers nod in agreement.

The rest of the evening is miserable. The Avengers try to rest, but they're all on edge, worried about another attack. Even the Helicarrier isn't safe from Amora and her magic. The team takes shifts to watch over Steve, but even when their shift is over, none of them really sleep.

The night is rough for Steve too. He is able to sleep a little, but wakes frequently from the nurses doing their hourly checks or when his arm starts to get uncomfortable. It feels like an eternity goes by before the sun begins to rise, signaling the start to a new day. Tony is harassing the medical staff first thing in the morning to discharge Steve so they can get out of there and get the kid back home. Pepper urges him to be patient, but she can't hide the fact that she's also anxious to get Steve out of this cold, sterile room and back home to the safety of the Tower. The doctors look over Steve's chart and authorize discharging him early that morning.

"Steve," Clint whispers. "Hey kid, wake up. We're going home." Clint pulls the oxygen mask off and picks Steve up. The kid lays his head on Clint's shoulder and wraps his good arm around the archer's neck while holding his casted arm close. Tony and Pepper are picking up Steve's meds from the pharmacy before they head up to the Quinjet.

They're all sigh a collective sigh of relief when they step into the tower. Clint carefully lays Steve down on the couch and covers him with a blanket. Tony sits down next to Steve on the couch and flips on the TV, not wanting to leave Steve alone. He sends the other Avengers back to bed, since it's still very early in the morning and they've all had a long night. Everyone seperates to their rooms and the tower is quiet.

It's nearly ten in the morning when Steve starts to stir. He sinks deeper into the soft couch pulls the blanket up close, but winces when he jars his broken arm. Tony looks over and notices Steve moving a little.

"How you feeling, kid?" Tony asks.

"Tired," Steve whispers lethargically and not making any effort to look at Tony.

"How's your arm?" Tony kneels in front of Steve.

"Hurts," He frowns. Tony checks his watch.

"You are about due for your meds. Stay here, I'll be right back." Tony walks to the kitchen and pulls the pharmacy bag off the counter that the doctors sent home for Steve. He kneels back in front of the little soldier with a small cup of the bitter liquid. Steve shakes his head and hides his face behind Bart. "Come on, Steve," Tony encourages and helps Steve to sit up and hands him the cup with the medicine in it. "The bottle says it's grape flavored," Tony know's that's a big fat lie. Steve frowns and stares at the cup for a little while before he fights the purple liquid down and hands the cup back to Tony. He sets it on the table and sits next to Steve.

"Are you hurt?" Steve asks and points at the big bruise on Tony's arm. He didn't even notice the bruise until now. It must have happened sometime last night.

"I'm fine," Tony shakes his head. _Apparently that annoying, self-sacrificing, concern-for-others crap isn't a by-product of the Super Soldier serum. It's just who Steve is_. "Only a few bumps and bruises." Steve leans into Tony's side, laying his head on the man's chest, and Tony wraps an arm around the kid. He flips through the channels and finds one playing cartoons. "Steve," Tony starts. "Last night, when those two people attacked us, I am sorry you got hurt."

"S'okay Tony," Steve stares hazily at the cartoon starfish and his yellow friend on the television. "It's not so bad." _Shit, this kid is so Captain America, it's not even funny. _

"Still, I'm going to do a better job. I'm going to protect you and I'm going to do everything I can to keep you from getting hurt again. That is a promise," Tony squeezes Steve closer. "But I need you to promise me that if this happens again, you'll stay hidden next time, no matter what you see or hear."

"Bucky says that only cowards hide when someone's in trouble," Steve frowns.

"Bucky sounds like a brave guy and you are very brave too, but these guys are bigger and stronger than you and they want to hurt you, Steve."

"Sounds like they're bullies," Steve answers quietly. "I don't like bullies."

"They are bullies," Tony agrees. "And they're very dangerous. So if this happens again I need you to promise me you will stay hidden and not come out until I come and get you, okay?" Silence. Tony looks down at the kid. "Steve?"

Steve is slouched against Tony's side, sleeping away with his casted arm draped across Bart, who seems to always be by his side lately. Tony shakes his head and relaxes back into the couch and starts to fall asleep too.

* * *

Tony's peaceful nap is cut short when he's startled awake by the television. He lays on the couch for another minute before he realizes that Steve isn't next to him anymore. He frantically searches the living room. "Steve? Steve, where are you?" He looks under the table, behind the couch, in the kitchen. He's nowhere. "JARVIS, where's Cap?"

"Young Captain Rogers is in his room in the restroom. It appears as though the Captain has taken ill."

"Call Bruce up, JARVIS," Tony orders and rushes into Steve's room. He finds the kid curled up on the bathroom floor with his face pressed against the cool bathroom tiles.

"Hey, kid," Tony kneels next to him and puts his hand on the kids back. Steve shivers, feeling cold and hot all at the same time. "What's wrong?"

"Tony, I don't feel very good," Steve says quietly. He closes his eyes against the harsh fluorescent lights in the bathroom and feels Tony's calloused hand land on his forehead.

"I assume this is what you called about?" Bruce asks from the doorway with a frown on his face.

"He's got a fever," Tony answers and picks Steve up off the floor to carry him into the living area. He lays him down on the couch and Steve hides his face in the soft blanket.

Bruce listens to his heart and lungs. Tony has JARVIS take Steve's temperature and sends the number to his phone so they don't scare the kid with the AI right now. Tony frowns when he sees the 101.0 temperature on his screen. Bruce takes some blood from Steve and he's feeling so cruddy that he doesn't even flinch at the needle poke. Neither Tony nor Bruce are excited at the thought of dragging Steve back to the Heilcarrier medical bay for the third time in the last few days so they decide to run tests in the lab and figure out what to do from there.

Tony grabs a glass of ginger ale and a cold wash cloth for Steve and sits next to him on the sofa. He jumps a little when thunder and lightening flash across the afternoon sky followed by a loud thud on the roof. A few minutes later, Thor walks in from the elevator and Tony gets up to meet him.

"Good afternoon Man of Iron," Thor greets with a big hug.

"Hi Thor," Tony answers back.

"How is our young Captain?" Thor asks and releases Tony from his grip.

"Well, a lot has happened since you left the other day." Tony pauses and rubs the back of his neck. He knows Thor's going to be angry so he just comes right out and says it. "Amora tried to take Steve last night."

"What?" Thor roars and Tony shakes his hands in front of the demi-god.

"Keep it down, the kid's sleeping," Tony shushes him.

"Where is he?" Thor asks more quietly, but still angry. "Is he unharmed?" Tony nods back toward the living area and he walks over to the couch and finds Steve resting with his arm in a cast.

"Not exactly," Tony answers. "But he'll be okay. He has a broken arm and he started feeling a little sick today."

"Amora shall pay for this," Thor tightens his fist.

"Did you find anything on Asgard to change Steve back?"

"Aye," Thor answers grimly. "The spell the Witch used is an ancient and powerful one. It was once used to turn back time for the warriors who had grown too old to defend their people. The spell required much to be enacted and was reserved for only the most worthy of warriors. This spell was created to be used for good, but Amora has twisted it to her evil will to turn our Captain into a child. She has no doubt gone to a great deal of trouble to perform this spell. My people had to do much searching to discover what she could be planning to do with our Captain." Thor kneels in front of Steve and lays his hand on his shoulder.

"She said that she requires the purest heart for her spell. We found only one enchantment that would require such a sacrifice that would suit Amora's desires and it is as dark and wicked as she is. In ancient times, Hel, the goddess who rules over the underworld of Neflheim, attempted to perform this ritual in order to gain power to overthrow Odin. She found a child with the purest and most innocent heart, such as Steven, and was preparing to sacrifice the child on the day where the night is longest.

"The longest night?" Tony asks and Thor nods. "That's not until December. That's nine months away."

"Not in Niflheim," Thor answers. "The spell does not say in which realm the spell must be cast, only that it must be on a day where the night is longest. That night shall come in three days time on Niflheim. I suspect that Amora will try to steal away the Captain and flee to the misty world, where Hel herself lives, to perform the ritual there. Once the sacrifice is made, the powers that flow through Yggdrasil by the great river of Hvergelmir are released through the pure and innocent blood that has been spilled. Hel was not strong enough to contain that power and she failed, but if Amora has found a way to harness the power, she will become unstoppable."

"How does any of this change Steve back?" Tony pinches the bridge of his nose at the horrifying reality of the situation.

"The spell that was used on our Captain is not meant to be reversed. However, all magic can be undone. Some require more to break than others, but it can be done. This spell is no different. We have spent many nights pouring over ancient books and scrolls and I believe that only love shall bring us back our Captain."

"Love. Really? Isn't that a little cheesy? Who wrote theses scrolls, Disney?" Tony remarks in disbelief. "So what do we have to do, kiss Steve to break the curse?"

"Do not mock, Stark," Thor continues. "Love is a strong force. Perhaps the strongest force in all of the nine realms. It is love that motivated our Captain to give up his power and freedom to save us, his family, and it is love that will bring him back to us."

"That's all you have?" Tony stares at Thor. "'The power of love' is going to bring Steve back? What the hell does that even mean? How do we even do anything with that?"

"We shall find a way," Thor assures the billionaire as he stands. "And we shall not stop until we have our Captain back."

* * *

"What are you finding?" Tony asks when he steps into the lab. He had left Thor with Steve and decided to check on the man.

"Tony, this is completely fascinating," Bruce answers, but not taking his eyes away from the microscope.

"Bruce, the kid is upstairs, burning up. Please tell me you're not down here playing around."

"What? No," Bruce answers and looks at Tony this time. "His blood is showing that he is fighting a fairly bad infection, but it's not the infection that's so amazing."

"Bruce," Tony scrubs his hands over his eyes. "This has been a _very_ long day/week. I am tired and Thor just depressed the hell out of me. To top this whole shit-storm off, Steve threw up on my very expensive shoes before I was able to get him to the bathroom a little while ago. Please, just tell me some kind of good news. _Anything_."

"The Super Soldier serum is back in his blood," Bruce smiles. "It's actually recreating itself in his system."

"What?" Tony rushes over to the desk Bruce is sitting at and looks over the blood work and lab results scattered across the table. "How is that even possible? Coulson said that he was at a pre-serum status."

"He was, but before all of this happened I theorized that the serum is now just a part of Steve's DNA. Think about it, how does it not ever run out? He was injected over seventy years ago. With the way his metabolism works he should have burned through that dose almost immediately. His body somehow produces the serum and replenishes it as he needs it. There must be a part of Steve's DNA that still allows him to reproduce the serum, but in much smaller quantities and a much slower rate in his current state. He's not at a 'Captain America' level of serum, but I believe if we give him time and some support we could have him back to normal within a couple days."

"No broken arm and no flu?" Tony asks after looking over Bruce's notes.

"I believe so," Bruce nods.

"That is good news," Tony says in amazement.

* * *

Pepper sets a plate of toast on the coffee table next to a fresh glass of ginger ale. Steve has finally stopped throwing up and his fever is a little lower, but he's still feeling down. The sun is starting to set and he hasn't moved from his same position on the couch all day.

"Steve, honey, don't you want to eat anything?" Pepper asks and puts her hand on his cheek. He shakes his head and shoves his face behind Bart when he sees Tony coming with the cups of medicine. Bruce put him on an antibiotic so the poor kid has two medications that he has to take now. It takes both Tony and Clint to convince Steve to take the medicine and they can only hope he gets better soon because it will eventually be near impossible to get him to take these. Clint and Tony have already had to bribe Steve with a promise to do something really fun with the kid when he gets better in order to get him to take the meds. Steve drinks the 'grape' flavored liquid and lays back down on the couch and goes back to sleep, completely ignoring the toast and ginger ale on the table.

They decide to let Steve crash on the couch since it didn't make much sense to wake him up to put him to bed. Tony puts JARVIS on high alert and the Avengers turn in for the night. Tony and Pepper decide to sleep in Steve's room, since it's closer to the living area, to make sure they hear if anything happens.

* * *

It's late at night when Steve wakes up with a start and flies up from the couch. It's raining outside and a storm is starting to move in. He looks around and a bit of panic rises up in his chest. The room is dark and he is a little confused because he's not in his bed and there's no one in sight. He grabs Bart and holds him close when he wanders to Tony and Pepper's room, but only finds an empty bed. Lightning flashes, casting eerie shadows across the walls. Steve races down the hall back to the couch and starts to get a little scared.

He pulls up as much courage as he can and wanders back through the living room and into Clint and Natasha's room. Their bed is also empty. Thunder cracks and shakes the tower. Steve makes a break for it and runs down the hallway and jumps up to push the button for the elevator. It takes him a couple tries before he finally hits it. The doors swing open and he rushes in. Thunder claps again and Steve huddles in the corner and presses his face into Bart's soft fur. The elevator dings, but he doesn't move.

Someone steps into the elevator and kneels next to him, but Steve can't bring himself to open his eyes. His heart is pounding and he can't stop shaking. He doesn't even hear what the person says, but he nearly falls over when they set a hand on his leg.

"Take it easy, kid," a familiar voice replies. "It's just me. Why are you in he elevator by yourself this late?"

"Clint?" Steve looks up at the archer with tears falling down his cheeks. "Where is everybody?"

"Tony and Pepper are sleeping in your room so they could hear if you needed anything." Lot of good that did, Clint thinks to himself. "Bruce is down in his lab, Thor is in his room upstairs and Natasha is in the bathroom in our room."

"I couldn't find any of you." He hiccups while his body tries to settle down. Clint picks him up and holds him tight to help calm Steve. He holds a hand against his forehead. Still a little warm.

"Sorry, kid," Clint frowns. "But I'm here now. Why are you up so late anyway?"

"Bad dream," Steve hiccups again and looks down at the floor.

"You want to talk about it?" Clint asks and puts a finger under his chin and tips is gaze back up to his. The kid shakes his head and Clint doesn't push him. "Do you want to hang out with Natasha and I for a little while?" Steve nods and Clint puts him back on the floor. Steve grabs Bart off the floor and drags him into the room and hops up on a chair in the corner. Clint flips on a basketball game on the television in their room and Steve watches with him. Natasha comes out of the bathroom, freshly showered, with a t-shirt and boxer shorts on.

'Hey Steve," Natasha says quietly, noticing that Steve is obviously upset. "What are you doing up?"

"Bad dream," Clint answers. Steve is starting to drift a little, but catches himself before he falls asleep, his head nodding every once in a while. Natasha strolls over to the chair and picks Steve up and lays him down in the middle of the bed, pulling the covers over him.

Clint and Natasha stay up for a little while longer and sit on the love seat together. They eventually turn off the television and go to bed. Natasha pulls the shivering kid close to her and Clint turns off the light.

Steve shoots up again a little while later, but is more at ease this time when he wakes up between Clint and Natasha.

"What's wrong, Steve?" Clint whispers from under the covers.

"Nothing," Steve answers back quietly and lays back down.

"You want a glass of water?" Clint asks and Steve nods. The two hop out of bed and walk into the kitchen. Clint pours them both a glass of water and they sit at the table together.

"You want to talk about it this time?" Clint asks Steve again and, again, he shakes his head. Clint stares at his glass of water for a moment before speaking again. "You know what, Steve?" He starts. "I had nightmares a lot when I was a kid too." Steve straightens up a bit and listens closely to Clint. "You know why I had nightmares?" Steve shakes his head. "Because my dad scared me and that fear followed me even in my dreams."

Steve shrinks down in his chair, but keeps listening to Clint. "He and my mom used to fight. A lot. He would hit her and, sometimes, he would hit me too." Steve looks up and his blue eyes are wide and wet. He can't imagine someone as big and strong as Clint being scared of anyone.

"What did you do?" Steve quietly asks.

"My parents passed away and my brother and I went to live with other kids who didn't have moms and dads. I thought that after my dad was gone I would feel better, but I didn't. I still had bad dreams and I was still scared of him even though he was gone. It was really hard at first, but I eventually learned how to talk to some people I trusted and that made me feel better." Clint pauses for a moment. "I'm always here to talk, Steve, if you want to." Clint softly encourages the kid. Steve is silent for a long while and Clint quietly waits for him to decide if he's ready.

"My dad hits my mom too," Steve whispers like he's telling Clint his deepest, darkest secret, which he kind of is. "He yells and hits her. She tells me to hide in the bathroom. Sometimes he finds me. He hits and yells at me too. Says that he should just pack up and leave us. That he doesn't have any money because of me. Cause I get sick. That I'm a burden….weak…worthless…." Steve's voice trails off and he shrinks even further into his chair.

Clint tries to hide his anger when he gets up out of his chair and kneels in front of Steve, finally understanding the man a bit more. Why he pushes himself so hard. Why he hides his weaknesses and puts on a strong front all the time. Clint always figured it was all bravado, but he understands, even relates a little now that he knows more of his past.

"Steve, you are not weak and you're not a burden and you're for sure not worthless. No matter what that man tells you, you are stronger and braver than anyone I've ever met. Never let anyone ever tell you any different. When that man hits you, it's not your fault. It is _never_ your fault. It's his and his alone. You've done nothing wrong and you don't deserve any of it. You understand me?" Clint asks. Steve doesn't look at Clint, but rather keeps his eyes focused on his cast. Clint holds the sides of Steve's face in his hands and pulls his gaze up to his again, blue eyes meeting his brown eyes. "Steve, do you understand?" Steve nods through tears and Clint wipes them away with his thumb. "Good," Clint hugs him tight and Steve hugs him back.

"Do you want to go back to sleep?" Steve nods again. They both walk back to the room in silence. Clint lifts him up onto the bed and he snuggles in next to Natasha and Clint lays down next to him. They all sleep through the rest of the night with no more nightmares.


	6. Chapter 6

**Oh good grief - prepare yourself for the fluff and the drama coming your way in this chapter. I've been wanting to write this part of the story for a while because I think the relationship between Steve and Coulson is adorable. So, read on for Cap and Coulson's play date! **

**Young America - Chapter 6**

Pepper is up early the next morning, as usual. She showers and changes into her work clothes and walks out into the living area on her way to the kitchen for her morning cup of coffee. She decides to check on Steve first and her heart sinks when she sees the empty couch. She looks all around the living area, but can't find any sign of Steve.

"Tony!" she yells in a panic. "Tony! Get out here! Steve is missing!"

Tony shoots out of bed, startled by the panicked yelling and stumbles into the living area. He's still half asleep and dragging the blankets and sheets off of the bed with him. He frantically tries to untangle himself from the bedding through his morning haze and ends up falling over onto the floor. It would have been comical if the situation was not so horrible.

"Tony, stop messing around. Steve is gone," Pepper yells and runs into their bedroom to check for Steve.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Tony waves his hands from the floor, trying to calm Pepper down for a second so they can collect their thoughts and figure this out before this gets too insane. "There's no way anyone, magical or not, could have come in here last night without JARVIS knowing."

"Well, where is he then?" Pepper yells at him again.

"Why are you yelling at me? I didn't take him," Tony starts to panic too. His own logic and trust in JARVIS failing since Steve is obviously gone and Amora is a sneaky witch.

"Why is everyone yelling at the butt crack of dawn?" Clint sighs wearily as he shuffles into the living area from his room.

"Steve is missing," Tony decides he's done with this. He's got to do something. He rushes over to the wall and punches a button that opens a secret panel where a set of Iron Man armor is awaiting.

"He's not missing," Clint pinches the bridge of his nose. "He's in our room, sleeping, which is what I, and all of you, should be doing right now because it is too damn early!"

"What? Why? Why-why-why would you do this to us?" Tony stutters both with relief that Steve is okay and frustration that Clint had him the whole time. Pepper just collapses onto the couch, so relieved that Steve is okay.

"Me?" Clint wakes up a bit at the accusation. "_You're _the one who was supposed to keep an ear open for any trouble last night. Did you miss him running around the tower trying to find someone, scared out of his tiny, 5-year-old-brain that he was alone?"

"Why didn't he come find us? We were fifty feet from the couch!" Tony's mind is reeling.

"He tried to find you. You weren't in your room. So I found him completely alone and terrified in the elevator at 1:00 in the morning."

Tony collapses into the couch next to Pepper with his hands pressed into his forehead. "I don't think I can take much more of this. This is why I don't want kids, Pepper. I break them. I am _not_ meant to be a father," Tony's voice trails off into a mumble.

"Tony," Clint starts, but stops short when a half-asleep Steve wanders into the room, dragging Bart behind him by his ear. He stops next to Clint and wraps his good arm around the archer's knee, leaning his head against his leg. Pepper is across the room in the blink-of-an-eye and snatches Steve up off the floor, holding him tightly and covering his cheek in kisses. Steve laughs a little and scrunches his shoulders up to his chin against Pepper's barrage kisses. His face quickly goes to a frown when he sees Pepper crying.

"What's wrong, Pepper?" Steve asks and holds Pepper's face in his little hands.

"I was just worried that something had happened to you," Pepper sniffs and looks at Steve.

"I'm okay, Pepper," Steve assures her and gives her a hug. "Please don't cry." Steve starts to sniff a little too.

"Hey, it's alright," Pepper replies. "I'm just so happy you're okay. You look like you're feeling better. How's your arm?"

"Hurts a little," Steve smiles.

"It's time for your medicine," Pepper looks at her watch. "Are you hungry?" Steve nods and Pepper takes him into the kitchen to make him something for breakfast and to give him is morning dose of his medication for his arm, leaving Tony and Clint in the living area.

"You're doing the best you can, Tony," Clint finishes his sentence from before.

"Obviously not, since Steve was freaking out last night and I didn't even know it."

"Look, I am tired, I just woke up, and I was frustrated about last night when I said that. I know you're doing your best with the insanity of this situation. Steve is fine, he's feeling better, and he's crazy about you, Tony. Spend some time with him today and just be the kid's friend. That's all he wants from you."

"Maybe you're right." Tony holds his face in his hands and rubs his forehead. "I'll figure something out to do with him today." The two men walk over to the kitchen and join Steve and Pepper for breakfast. Tony sits next to Steve and grabs a bowl of the same cereal that the kid is eating. "Hey, kid. Feeling better?" Steve nods his head and takes a big bite of Coco Puffs. "What do you think about you and me hanging out today? Tony and Steve's Day of Awesomeness?"

Steve nearly chokes on a Coco Puff at the question. He instantly jumps off his chair and starts bouncing like he always does when he's excited. "Really?!" He shouts.

"Absolutely," Tony smiles at catches a glimpse of Clint laughing under his breath while he busies himself with the coffeemaker.

"Yeah!" Steve runs around the table in excitement before stopping in front of Tony and knuckle bumping with him. "What are we going to do?" Steve is still bouncing. Tony is about to answer when his phone goes off and he video chats with the man with the eye patch that Steve saw on the jet a few days ago.

"We're calling your team in, Stark," Fury announces over the phone. "We've got a terrorist group threatening to blow up a small village in the Middle East."

"What do you want me to do about it, Fury?" Tony asks, trying to keep his voice low so Steve can't hear him. "Our hands are a little full right now. Send in your agents. They can handle it."

"Not this time, Stark. This is a high risk situation with a huge potential for casualties if we don't get this under control. The last thing this area needs is more stress and more reason to go to war. We need the Avengers to get in, put a lid on this, and get out. I want you and your entire team here in twenty. Bring Cap and we'll take care of him until you get back."

Tony nods and ends the transmission before slamming his phone on the counter in frustration and turning to Steve. The kid has stopped bouncing and instead stands totally still with his head bowed, fiddling with his fingers.

"Does that mean we're not having 'Tony and Steve's Day of Awesomeness'?" Steve asks quietly with his gaze focused on his fingers, clearly disappointed since he already knows the answer.

"I'm sorry, Kid," Tony kneels down next to Steve and puts his hands of his little shoulders. "I'm going to do everything I can to get back in time so we can still have 'Tony and Steve's Day of Awesomeness.'"Steve nods and turns to go to his room to get dressed.

Tony's heart breaks as his own childhood flashes before his eyes. His father always promising to spend time with him, but getting called away to a board meeting or business trip at the last second. He remembers the disappointment and the hurt he felt every time his father chose his job over him and it kills him that now he's doing the same to Steve. The circumstances now are obviously a bit more extreme than a business luncheon, but that doesn't make Tony feel any less guilty.

The billionaire hangs his head low, still kneeling on the floor, and holds his phone up. "Avengers. Assemble," he calls into his phone with a low, determined voice. He's not going to be his father and he's going to keep his promise and make it back in time for Steve.

* * *

The Avengers are geared up and boarding the Quinjet to depart on their mission. Clint is piloting while everyone else starts strapping in for the flight. Steve and Coulson are in the launch bay. Steve holds Coulson's hand and Bart in the other while he watches all his friends board the jet. Steve waves a sad goodbye to them while the back hatch of the jet starts to close and the Quinjet takes off.

"Get your head in the game, Stark," Natasha says to him out as soon as they are clear of the Helicarrier.

"What?" Tony snaps out of his guilty daze.

"I know Steve was disappointed, but you need to focus on the mission."

"I'm fine. Lets just get this done so we can go home."

"What is our plan of attack?" Thor asks.

"We attack," Tony answers flatly.

"That's not a plan," Bruce replies with a little trepidation in his voice. "Usually there's more than one part to a plan."

"We show up, we attack, kick their asses, and leave," Tony revises. "Is that better?"

"Oh, much," Bruce nods sarcastically.

"Come on, Tony," Natasha rolls her eyes. "You're on point now since Cap is out. We need you to pull it together and lead the team."

"Alright, alright," Tony throws his hands up in surrender. "Let's figure this out. How much time do we have, Clint?"

"ETA is 20 minutes," Clint announces from the pilot's seat.

"Plenty of time."

* * *

Steve watches the Quinjet take off out of the launch bay and disappear into the sky. The bay doors close and Steve lets out a depressed sigh. Coulson looks down at the sad kid and smiles.

"Hey, Steve," Phil kneels down next to him. "I know you're bummed that all your friends left, but we can still have fun today. What do you think?" The kid looks at Coulson with a weak smile and nods. Steve likes Coulson. Despite him being a serious, high-ranking agent, Steve can see that the man is kind, caring, and maybe even fun. "Alright," Phil grins. "I have a few things I need to do this morning, but after that we are going to have a lot of fun."

Steve follows the agent onto the bridge of the Helicarrier. Coulson sits himself in front of a console and starts pulling up files and documents on the screen. Nothing that Steve thinks looks particularly interesting. The kid plants himself next to the console near Phil and pulls out his coloring books from his backpack.

Other agents on the bridge keep casting their glances toward him and Coulson. A child on the bridge is not a normal occurrence even if the child is believed to be under the protection of the Avengers. Whispers and rumors are passed between agents and Steve starts to feel a little uncomfortable with all the sideways glances being directed his way. Rumors that this is really Tony's illegitimate son or that Clint and Natasha had a kid they've been hiding for years.

"Is there a problem, agents?" Phil suddenly turns his chair and stares down the crew on the bridge. He's had enough of the rumors and garbage being passed around. No one says anything. No one moves. "No? Then I suggest you all get back to work, focus on your tasks, and make sure we get our people home safe." The agents quickly return to their attention back to their stations and Coulson sits back down. A significant amount of time goes by and Steve is nearly finished with the coloring book when he jumps, startled by a sudden voice on the bridge.

"Coulson," the man yells. "What's our team's status?" Steve quickly sits up on his rear from his belly and looks from Coulson to the other man. He instantly recognizes his face. It's pretty hard not to with the very distinctive eye patch. Steve is trying to decide if the man is scary or not. He has the same hardened and intimidating exterior as Coulson, but not as much of the kindness. Steve decides not to test the man out and simply scoots behind Coulson who is now standing.

"They've arrived onsite and are preparing to engage the village, sir," Coulson answers.

"Good. Let's get this thing done," Fury orders before looking down at Steve. The little boy is peeking out from behind Phil's leg, holding Bart close and studying Fury intently. "I suggest you and your partner get moving, Coulson," Fury orders, not wanting the kid to see the potentially violent fight about go down on the monitors. Coulson nods and gathers Steve up and exits the bridge.

Coulson carries Steve down corridor after corridor, taking turns and elevators without hesitation. It was very obvious that Phil knew exactly where to go and what was the quickest way to get there. Steve was impressed because the majority of the halls and doors looked exactly the same to him. It was amazing he didn't get lost even once.

"Where are we going?" Steve finally asks.

"I have something to show you that I think you will really enjoy," Coulson answers.

They arrive at a door that looks like every single other door that they've passed, and Coulson opens it. They walk in and it is very obviously a living quarters, albeit a modest living quarter. There is a couch, table, and bookshelf off to the left and a very small, basic kitchenette to the right. Directly in front of them is a small hallway with a teeny bathroom to the right and a simple bedroom at the end of the hall. Coulson sets Steve down and walks over to the bare wall next to the bookshelf. He puts his hand on the wall and a scanner appears under his hand and starts to scan. Suddenly, a panel in the wall slides away to reveal a case that stands from floor to ceiling. It's filled with stuff, most of the stuff Steve thinks looks like really old junk, but he's excited when he sees a bunch of kids toys and comic books.

"This is my collection, Steve," Coulson proudly announces.

"Who's C-Captain Amer-America? Steve asks, sounding out the word on one of the comic books.

"He is a hero," Coulson beams. "The first and best hero."

"Like the Avengers?" Steve asks and his face lights up.

"Yes, just like them. He's their leader," Coulson beams.

"Where is he?" Steve asks curiously.

"Well, he's been gone for a little while since the Avenger's last meeting. But he'll be back," Coulson assures Steve as well as himself. "He has saved the world so many times I've lost count," he continues. "He fights for the innocent and beats the bad guys with his mighty shield."

Coulson pulls down a life-sized replica of Cap's shield and Steve runs his little hand across the steel. "With one throw of his shield he can stop anything. He's brave and courageous and he even fought bad guys like Hitler!" Coulson throws in hands up in the air to exaggerate his point.

"Whoa," Steve whispers with his mouth hanging open. "He sounds so cool!"

"Oh, he is," Coulson laughs. "I think I have something in here for us to have a little fun with." Coulson pulls an old cardboard box off of one of the lower shelves and digs through it. Steve watches curiously when the agent pulls out a little plastic Captain America shield and mask. "Someone gave this to me a couple months ago and I think it is perfect for you," Coulson puts the little mask on Steve and hands him the shield.

"Wow, thank's Co-son!" Steve lights up and gives the man a big hug. Steve immediately starts running around the small room with his little shield strapped to his good arm. "Watch out evil!" Steve shouts and puts his shield up in the air. "Captain America is here to protect the innocent!"

"Oh, Captain America you say?" Coulson yells back in his best 'evil' voice. He quickly grabs a toy phaser that shoots darts out of the box and a german helmet and throws it on. "You will never catch me, super soldier!"

Coulson runs out of the room and down the hall and Steve chases after him, laughing. Phil shoots darts at Steve, making his own laser sound-effects. Steve raises up his shield and blocks the little darts flying at him. They eventually run down the hall and into the gymnasium. It's the middle of the day and there's no one in sight, which is good because this would be a bizarre sight for any SHIELD agents trying to train. Steve chases Coulson into the basketball court and Phil quickly rounds on Steve, pointing the gun to him.

"You're trapped, Nazi!" Steve yells.

"You haven't caught me yet, hero!" Phil sneers and rolls behind a set of lockers and fires more darts at Steve. Steve giggles again and blocks the toy darts with the shield. Coulson is out of ammo and makes a run for it when Steve launches the little shield at Phil, hitting him lightly in the side. Phil falls over dramatically and Steve runs up to him, picking up the shield. He quickly jumps on top of the Agent and laughs.

"Do you surrender!?" Steve asks with a big grin.

"I surrender, Captain America!" Phil mock-cries with his hands in the air. "Please, don't hurt me!" Steve marches the man over to one of the racket ball courts and opens the door for him. Phil steps in and sits in front of the glass window and pretends to look very sad.

"Bad guys never win," Steve tells the man inside his 'prison' cell.

* * *

After their harrowing adventure, Steve and Phil walk down to the cafeteria. Steve follows close behind Phil with his Captain America mask still on, plastic shield strapped to his back, and Bart in tow. Agents smile and wave at the adorable kid as they walked down the corridor, addressing him as Captain America and having no idea that he was actually Captain America. Phil couldn't help but laugh a little.

The two walk into the cafeteria and Phil grabs them some food. Chicken nuggets and juice for Steve and a burger for himself. Steve munches on his meal and looks around the room for a little while in silence.

"Co-son?" Steve asks, but doesn't take his eyes off his meal.

"What's up, Big Guy?" the agent asks and looks at Steve.

"Why is Captain America your favorite?"

"Well, Steve," Coulson starts slowly. "When I was a kid I went to a school where kids weren't always very nice. I was the smallest one in my grade and I had big glasses and I was kind of quiet. A lot of the kids picked on me and sometimes beat me up."

"They were bullies," Steve says with a frown, fully knowing what it was like to be bullied.

"Yes, they were," Coulson answers with a small smile. "There were days that I was so sad when I came home from school that I just went to my room and cried. But one day I saw a Captain America comic book at the store. I read all about how Captain America was a little guy, just like me, and he became a super hero. He fought bullies, like the Nazis, and stood up for people who couldn't defend themselves. He gave me hope, Steve. I started to stand up for some of the other kids who got picked on at my school because I wanted to be like Cap. Some of those kids even became my friends afterwards. He's a big part of why I decided to work for SHIELD. Because I wanted to help people just like he does."

Steve sits in silence for a minute, thinking about all the times that he and Bucky have been picked on and beaten by bullies. He thinks about all the times that Bucky had stood up for him and how he stood up for some other kids too even though he was small.

"Co-son?" Steve asks again. "I think I want to be like Captain America someday too."

"I think you're more like him than you know, Steve," Coulson smiles at the kid.

The two of them go back to their meal when another agent comes up to Phil and the two start talking. The other agent pulls out a small tablet and they start going over mission plans.

Steve starts to get bored and grabs Bart and his shield up from under the table. He starts to wander around a bit, but not straying far from Phil, when he drops his shield and it rolls all the way across to the other side of the cafeteria. Steve sets Bart down on the table and chases after the wayward shield. He grabs up the shield and starts to make his way back to Phil when he hears something from a doorway near the kitchen. Steve turns to see a man standing in the door. He has a SHIELD uniform on and he's waving for him to come over. Steve cautiously approaches the man.

"Hey, kid," he greets. "Are you Captain America?"

"No," the kid laughs. "But someday I want to be just like him," Steve beams and holds up his shield proudly.

"Well, how would you like a chance to be a hero and help me?" the man asks.

"Sure, Mister," Steve answers. "What can I do to help?"

"I have a big cart back here that I need help pushing. Could you help me?" Steve nods and follows the man. They walk through the busy kitchen and out another door into an empty corridor.

"Where's your cart, Mister?" Steve asks, but before he can even finish his question the man grabs him up and puts his hand over his mouth. Steve frantically struggles to break free, but the man is too strong. He rushes down the hall with Steve and comes to a door. He quickly punches in a few numbers into a pad on the side of the door, releasing one hand from restraining Steve to type. Steve sees his opportunity and quickly slams his little shield into the man's face as hard as he can. The man yells and drops Steve.

The kid thinks fast and remembers boxing with Clint. He dodges a swing from the disoriented man before he takes his little plastic shield and rams it into his kneecap with all his strength. The man grabs his knee and falls to the ground. Steve doesn't waste any time and he runs down the hall, frantically searching for Phil, but all the halls in this area are empty.

Steve can hear the man coming and he just keeps moving down hall after hall. The man is getting closer, even with his injured knee. Steve dashes around another corner and runs into someone. He scrambles back and tries to get back on his feet to run when he looks up to see a familiar face. He tries to decide if he's still in danger or if he should be relieved when he looks up to see the man with the eye patch.

Steve sits on his rear for a second while he tries to figure out what to do. The man who is chasing him comes around the corner and stops dead in his tracks when he sees Fury. The Director stares the man down. The agent's face is bruised from where Steve hit him and he's obviously favoring his knee.

"Director," the man stands as straight as he can and salutes Fury. "I was just trying to track the kid down for Agent Coulson. Seems he had wandered away." Fury grabs Steve's arm and pulls the kid behind him.

"Is that so?" Fury asks, obviously not believing the man for a second. "What happened to your eye, Agent?" The man frowns and glares at the Director. He pauses, but only for a moment. He makes a move for his sidearm, but he's not even close before Fury takes him down. The loud blast from the gun makes Steve jump and he hides his face behind Fury's leg, closing his eyes tight. Before Steve knows what's happening he's being lifted up off the ground. Fury grabs the kid and runs down the hall, away from the man who was chasing Steve.

"Coulson, I need you to meet me on the bridge. Now," Fury orders over his comm-link.

"Sorry, Boss, no can do. I have a small situation that…"

"I have him," Fury answers before Phil can even finish his sentence. There's a short pause before Phil answers.

"I'm on my way," Phil confirms.

The two agents meet on the bridge and Phil is visibly relieved when he sees Steve standing next to Fury.

"Sorry, Boss," Phil can hardly look at the man, ashamed that he failed in his task of keeping an eye on Steve. "I was talking to another agent for just a second and lost track of him."

"He didn't wander away," Fury stops Coulson before he goes any further. "An agent tried to kidnap him. He's up on deck 4. Hopefully he's still alive so we can question the bastard." Phil nods and calls for a security team to collect the man.

"Steve, are you okay?" Coulson kneels and asks the kid. Steve nods and hugs Phil around the neck.

"Kid gave his kidnapper a pretty good knock in the head with his shield," Fury answers and Coulson swears he even sees a small smile. "Might've even fractured his knee, too."

"Really?" Phil grins. "Well it looks like you really do have more Captain America in you than you thought." Steve smiles a little at the thought.

"Clint showed me how to fight," Steve says proudly.

"Well, you are a very fast learner," Coulson laughs. Fury and Coulson decide they don't want the kid out of their sight and decide to keep him close on the Bridge. Coulson turns on a cartoon for Steve on one of the consoles and sets the kid in the chair with a blanket, hopeful that he'll take a quick afternoon nap with all the excitement of the day. Phil's hopes are met when he checks on Steve a few minutes later and he's asleep in the chair with his mask and shield still on.

* * *

"You assholes are making me miss 'Tony and Steve's Day of Awesomeness'!" Tony yells as an RPG flies past his head. The Avengers almost have the situation under control. The local military has showed up and are backing them up as they gather the last of the terrorists and evacuate the village.

"Stark," Fury comes over the comm-link on his armor. "Status."

"We've detained the terrorist and local law enforcement are taking over," Tony answers. "We'll be on our way back soon. ETA, about an hour."

"I need you back here on the double," Fury answers back. "We had a rogue agent try to abduct Steve this afternoon."

"What?" the Avengers all yell collectively. Hulk just roars, but they all know what he means.

"Is he okay?" Clint yells.

"He's fine. We have him back, he's safe and unharmed and we have the agent in custody. Just get yourselves back here now."

"We're on our way," Natasha confirms and they're in the air as soon as they're sure the situation is under control.

* * *

"Steve!?" Tony yells while he runs down the hall and onto the bridge. "Steve!"

"Stark," Fury and Coulson intercept him on the bridge. "Calm down. He's over there and he's fine." Tony is across the room in a flash and finds Steve sleeping away on one of the bridge chairs. The rest of the Avengers walk onto the bridge and they're all relieved to see that Steve is okay.

"What in the hell happened?" Clint asks. "How did a rogue agent get aboard the helicarrier? I mean, shit, can't this kid go more than a day without someone trying to kill him or abduct him?"

"We're interrogating the agent now. He's been ID'd as Agent Michael Watermen. No prior offenses and no red flags from his superiors. We _will_ find out what he was planning," Fury confidently assures them. "If it makes you feel any better; Steve kicked his ass." The Avengers all look at Fury sideways. "Nailed him right in the face and took out his knee with his 'shield'," Fury nods over to the plastic shield Steve is holding onto.

"Shut up," Tony says in shock, but smiles a little.

"He is a warrior," Thor laughs. "No matter his size nor the number of his years."

"He said that Clint showed him how to fight," Coulson smiles and glances at Clint.

"No kidding," Clint laughs out loud. "Well way to go, kid."

"When do we get a crack at Watermen?" Natasha asks, but not able to hide a smirk directed at Clint.

"I can take you up now," Coulson answers and Clint and Natasha follow the agent out of the bridge.

"What do we do now?" Bruce asks.

"I don't know about you guys, but there's still enough time for 'Tony and Steve's Day of Awesomeness," Tony raises his brow and starts working away on his phone.

* * *

"Steve," Tony pokes the kid in the side a few times. "Steve." The kid pushes Tony's hand away and frowns. "Hey, kid, it's Tony. Are you ready to go home?" Steve rolls over and instantly lights up when he sees Tony.

"You're back!" Steve yells and throws his hands up, signaling Tony to pick him up.

The billionaire laughs and picks up the kid. "Yeah, Steve. I'm back."

Bruce and Thor are waiting for them in the launch bay, but Clint and Natasha are staying behind to finish their interrogation of Agent Watermen.

"Hey! Wait!" Coulson is running down the hall. "You forgot this." He's waving Bart in the air. The Agent makes it to the Quinjet and hands the dog to Steve. The kid hops down to the ground and hugs Coulson.

"Thank you for playing with me today," Steve smiles and hands Phil back his Captain America stuff. "Can I come back sometime and learn more about Captain America with you?"

Phil smiles and hugs the kid back. "You can come back and we'll hangout any time you want. And I think you should keep this until next time." Phil hands the kid the shield and toy mask back. "I think you earned them today."

"Thanks Co-son" Steve smiles and knuckle bumps Phil before boarding the jet.

Tony pilots the Quinjet back to the Tower and immediately brings Steve up to the rooftop.

"What are we doing up here, Tony?" Steve asks as he follows the man up the metal stairs that lead up to the highest point on the tower.

"We are going to go camping," Tony announces.

"Camping? I've never been camping before!"

"Well, camping Tony-style. I think it's probably similar to 'glam-ping." Up on top of the helipad there's a big tent and a fire pit with a roaring fire.

"Wow, are we really going to sleep in the tent outside?" Steve starts to bounce with excitement again.

"Yeah, kid. We're camping!"

The two grab a couple sticks and roast marshmallows over the fire and make s'mores and Tony tells Steve campfire stories he remembers from when he went to summer camp when he was a kid. The two laugh and talk late into the night. They soon find themselves laying on a blanket and staring at the stars in silence before Steve asks Tony a question.

"Tony?" the kid starts. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, Kid. You can ask me anything." Tony answers, feeling a little nervous at what Steve wants to ask that he feels like he needs to ask before asking.

Steve pauses for a moment and sits up. "Do you….do you think that _you_ could be my dad?" Tony flushes at the question and, for the first time possibly ever, he's speechless.

"You want _me_ to be your dad?" Tony finally chokes out. "Really? Why?" The conversation with Clint that morning and memories from the last few days race through Tony's mind as he shifts through his mental account of the week to see at what point Steve would ever want him for a father. None come to mind. It's been a pretty awful week for the kid and Tony is well and truly lost for an answer. Steve blushes a little at the man's surprise and thinks for a moment.

"Well, you like to spend time with me," Steve starts. "You are really smart. We laugh a lot together and you make me feel good about myself. You're loads more fun than my dad," Steve pauses for a moment. "But if you don't want to…."

"No. No Steve, it's not that," Tony interrupts him before he can even finish that thought. "Look, Kid, I just don't think that I am very good at being a dad."

"Oh," Steve answers, disappointed.

"But," Tony puts his finger in the air. "I do think I'd be a pretty darn good big brother."

"Brothers?" Steve smiles.

"Best Bros." Tony answers and knuckle bumps Steve.

"Like me and Bucky!" Steve knuckle bumps back.

"Yeah, kid," Tony laughs. "Steve," the kid looks at Tony, blue eyes meeting brown. "Even though I'm not your dad, if I ever have kids, I would want them to be just like you." Steve beams. Tony and Steve turn in and prep their tent for the night and sleep under the peaceful starry sky.

**Hope you guys liked Steve and Coulson's play date and Tony and Steve's bro-bonding moment on the Tower! New chapter to come soon! **


	7. Chapter 7

**Young America - Chapter 7**

** Hi everyone! Thank you so much for your encouraging reviews - you guys are the best! This story is getting down to the end and we're going to find out Steve's fate and the fate of his team. Hope you enjoy this chapter!  
**

**Side note: I did tweak this chapter - I wasn't happy with some of the dialogue and a couple storyline choices. I hope you guys still like the story and the next chapter will be on the way very soon! **

"Tony?" Steve whispers from inside his sleeping bag.

"Yeah?"

"Are you sleeping yet?"

"Not yet. Are you?" Tony was really not anywhere close to sleeping. He's been laying there for the last hour, silently going crazy, because it's only midnight. Normally he'd be down in his lab working away because the night is still young, but he promised Steve he would spend time with him and part of spending time with him is sleeping in a small tent on the roof of the Tower.

"No. I'm not tired." Steve sits up.

"Me neither," Tony sits up too. "You want to go sit by the fire?"

"Yeah," Steve gets up and hops out of the tent and the feet of his footie pajamas that Pepper bought him make shuffling noises as they skid across the ground. Tony follows and spreads out the sleeping bags on two lounge chairs next to the fire. Steve shoves his chair closer to Tony's until they're right next to each other and he wiggles under his covers.

"Comfy, Kid?" Tony asks while Steve tucks himself in and leans into Tony's side across the gap in the two chairs. Steve nods. "So what do you think about camping, kid?"

"I like it," Steve smiles and looks up at Tony. "Thanks for takin' me campin' Tony."

"Anytime, Kid."

Steve pauses for a long moment. So long that Tony thought the kid might have fallen asleep. "Are your favorite colors red and gold?"

"No," Tony laughs at the randomness of the question. "I actually like green, but the armor looked like a big bug in green. Red and Gold are much more sharp. What about you?"

"I like yellow."

"Good choice. Very bright. Cheerful," Tony decides to keep the conversation going to make the night go by faster. He'll also get to learn more of the random tidbits about Steve that he's never asked him before. "How about your favorite show?"

"Mom and I always listen to the Dick Tracy show on the radio. He's kind of like you, Tony. He's real smart with lots of cool gadgets and he goes around solvin' crimes and helpin' people."

Tony smiles, both because he's flattered at the comparison and because he forgot that a show for Steve is on a radio versus a television. "Remind me to show you James Bond later. I think you'd like him too. What's your favorite food?"

"I always wanted to try steak," Steve ponders. "I see people eating it at one of the really fancy restaurants downtown. But my favorite is when we have a little extra money and we can make beef stew with potatoes. What's yours Tony?"

"I've had steak before and it's one of my favorites. We'll have to go get a good steak together," Tony answers. "You said that you wanted to be an artist when you grow up, but if you could be _anything_ in the world, what would you be?"

Steve pauses and thinks for a moment. "I thought being an artist would be the coolest thing I could do, but if I could do _anything_ in the world I would want to be a police officer."

"Really?" Tony asks, a little surprised by the completely different occupations. "Why?"

"I just want to help people," Steve yawns. "A couple of months ago Sara, one of the girls in my neighborhood, got a puppy. She was playing with him outside when the puppy wandered near the street. It was real icy and it slid across the ice and down a storm drain in the street. She was crying and trying to reach it, but it was too far down. A police officer was driving by and he stopped to see what was wrong. Sara showed him where the puppy was and he told her he was going to get him out for her. The policemen must've been real strong because he kicked through a bar on the metal grate covering the storm drain and pulled out the puppy. He made Sara so happy and helped her when she really needed it."

Steve closes his eyes and leans heavily against Tony's side. "But everybody says I'm to little and sick to be a police officer. So I always liked drawin' and my pictures always made my mom feel better when she was sick or sad. Figure I could help people that way instead."

"Steve, you can be whatever you want. If you want to be a police officer or an artist, I think you would be great at both."

"Thanks, Tony," Steve sighs and shifts onto his side. "Did you want to be Iron Man when you were little?"

"No," Tony laughs. I just wanted to build things and Iron Man kind of just happened." Tony frowns at the memories of what brought Iron Man into existence. "I always liked math and science and figuring out why things do what they do. Like in your story with the icy, metal grate. I am sure the police officer was very strong, but the grate was weakened by the ice on the metal which helped him break the bar."

"That's science?" Steve asks sleepily.

"Yep," Tony answers. "Science answers why things do what they do. That's why it's so interesting. You can do just about anything when you know how things work and once I learned more about science I started building things. Iron Man was one of those things." Steve doesn't answer this time and Tony looks down to see that Steve really has fallen asleep this time. The kid is laying on top of his arm and he doesn't want to move and possibly wake the kid up. He's stuck. Tony lays on the lounge chair until he starts to finally drift off to sleep as well.

The stars are poking out of the night sky and the full moon lights up the entire city. Tony and Steve are both sleeping peacefully in their small campsite with the dull hum of the always busy city below. A sharp rush of wind rushes through and extinguishes the fire and waking Tony. He groggily looks at the fire and down at Steve, who is still sleeping on top of his arm. He carefully lays the sleeping soldier on his side, freeing his arm, and tries to restart the fire. Suddenly Tony's arms are wrenched behind his back and he is being restrained. Executioner holds him tightly to keep him from reaching his bracelet to summon his armor. They won't make that mistake twice. Amora strolls into view with her usual arrogant disposition. She circles the chairs where Steve is still sleeping, but keeps her eyes on Tony.

"Hello, Tony," Amora stares him down while she continues to circle Steve. "So good to see you again."

"Wish I could say the same," Tony sneers.

"Not very pleased to see me today?" She gives the Billionaire a look of mock-sadness. "You know, there is a way you and I could part ways permanently."

"You mean by me killing you? Trust me, I've already thought of that."

"Tsk, tsk. Tony, such violence and in the presence an innocent child," Amora brushes back Steve's blonde hair from his forehead. "What I meant is that all you have to do to be rid of me is give me your young friend here. Simple as that."

"Stay away from him," Tony orders. Amora just cackles.

"I don't think you are in any position to tell me what to do," She kneels next to Steve and runs her cold hand down his cheek. Steve stirs and sleepily opens his eyes to see Amora. He quickly grabs Bart pushes himself back into the chair while he tries to put as much distance between himself and the witch. He looks around and sees Tony being restrained by Executioner.

"Tony?" His little voice is shaky and scared.

"It's okay, Steve. Just hang tight, okay?" Steve nods and Tony turns his attention to the witch who is now standing behind the kid's chair. "If I were you I would pack up and leave while I am still feeling generous enough to let you walk out of here.

"Oh, really? How exactly do you plan on doing anything without your armor?" She sets her hands on Steve's shoulders and he cringes and tries to pull away.

"I don't need my armor to beat you. I've got backup."

"Your precious Avengers are asleep in their beds, completely unaware of our presence. You are alone."

"I wasn't talking about the Avengers," Tony smirks, knowing full well that they would never get here in time once JARVIS called for them. Amora looks at him suspiciously "JARVIS! Offensive protocol 012 Alpha, target: Amora."The AI immediately comes online and pelts Amora with repulser blasts. The witch dodges the attacks and fires her own magic back, taking out a few of the Tower's offensive weapons.

"Steve! Run for it!" Tony yells. Steve gets up to run, but Amora quickly grabs him up in her crushing grip. JARVIS' targeting system struggles to calculate a clear shot, but he does still land a hit or two. Amora retreats back to a large vent and takes cover while the small child struggles against her hold. Steve kicks and wiggles before he's able to throw a forceful kick into her thigh. Amora screams in anger and pain and grabs Steve by the back of his shirt to hold him out in front of her. He squirms and swings, trying to land another blow, but she just holds him at arms length to keep him from connecting.

"I would tell your weapons to cease fire if you want your small friend back in once piece," She threatens. Tony glares at her, unflinching, while JARVIS continues to fire. Amora smirks and and walks over to the ledge of the building, holding Steve over the edge. Steve curls into himself and stills while he stares down at the dizzying height.

"Stop!" Tony yells and struggles against Executioner's grip. "Don't hurt him. You need him alive just as much as I do!"

"I need his heart. The spell doesn't specify if he needs to be alive or not when the sacrifice is made. I want your Captain's heart because I _know_ it will work, but I can always try another. There are other children out there whose hearts are pure enough. I am willing to run that risk. Are you?"

The two enemies stare each other down, each calling the other's bluff. In the end, Tony has so much more to lose than Amora and he knows it. He's been realizing that more and more over the last few days. Amora loses power and although she believes that to be the most important thing, Tony stands to lose something much more precious: his friend. The more he thinks about it, his _best_ friend. Steve has been his best friend both as an adult and a child and the thought of losing him shakes him to his core. Amora can find another heart, but Tony will never be able to find another Steve.

"JARVIS, stand down," Tony orders through gritted teeth.

"Good decision," Amora smiles, pleased that she is victorious in her game. She pulls Steve back from the edge and places a hand in front of his face with her fingers barely touching his forehead. "Sleep, _creature_" she orders and the Steve instantly closes his eyes and relaxes in her grip.

"What did you do to him?" Tony yells furiously.

"Calm yourself, Stark" Amora sneers. "It is merely a simple sleeping spell to ensure we don't have any more…outbursts." She painfully limps back toward Tony, favoring her leg that Steve had kicked her in.

"You won't get away with this," Tony promises.

"You won't be able to stop me. Now, be a good little human and keep your hands up when Executioner releases you. I would hate to have to go back to all that nasty business about throwing things over the edge of buildings again."

Executioner releases Tony and he reluctantly puts his hands up while the other man walks over to Amora. She roughly hands Steve over to the man before she takes a couple steps toward Tony. She seductively bends over and picks up Steve's stuffed dog up off of the ground and runs a finger over his fur.

"It's funny," she starts. "The things that become precious to us. This trinket here for example. Just a pile of fabric and cotton and yet so important to him. And you," she stares at Tony before looking back to Steve. "This child has nothing to offer you. He no longer has the power of Captain America. He can no longer lead nor does he know anything of this present world. He is completely dependent on you and your team for all of his needs. He is as useless and worthless as this toy," she holds up the dog again in disgust. "And yet you are willing to give so much for him because he has somehow become important to you."

"He's _not_ worthless or useless," Tony growls. "He's my friend."

"Friendship," Amora snorts. "It's weakness. Trivial attachments that can be used against you."

"It's not weakness. It's something you know _nothing_ about. Something that you'll never know anything about."

"Please, enlighten me," Amora mocks.

"It's the reason why Steve let you to take him in the cave - because you never would have taken him if he hadn't _let _you take him - and why he was willing to give up everything for us without a second thought. Why myself and the Avengers are willing to do the same for him: Love."

"Love?" she mocks. "You think I know nothing of love?" She seductively walks closer to Tony with a passionate look in her eyes.

"I think you know of lust. Selfishness. Manipulation. Loneliness. Believe me, I'm was an expert in all of those areas. But since Pepper, the Avengers, and this," he taps his Arc reactor, "I've learned about what it means to love and care about someone, and Lady, right now, you're threatening someone that we all love and it's not going to end well for you."

"Bring your worst," Amora beckons before turning back to her bodyguard holding her quarry and fading away as she had before.

"JARVIS," Tony yells as soon as the woman is gone. "Assemble the Avengers."

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Tony's world is a blur after Steve is taken. He's rushing down the stairs from the roof while so many thoughts run through his head. Thoughts about how he's got to find Steve in the next 24 hours, what Amora is going to do with him until then, how scared Steve must be, and how he can't believe he bought into and actually fought for Thor's theory on love. Through the storm that's going on in his mind, Tony runs down the stairs and into the battle room where all the Avengers are suited up and waiting despite the early hour.

"Stark," Clint yawns. "It's nearly 4am. You'd better have a damn good reason for assembling us."

"No sass. Not now," Tony says flatly while he storms into the room. The Avengers all glance at one another. They've never heard Tony sound so serious and that's concerning.

"Tony, what's going on," Bruce stands from his chair and stares at the man intently. "Where's Steve? I thought you two were camping up on the roof."

"We were. Amora came in and took him," Tony answers while he pulls up a computer screen and starts tapping away.

"What?" Thor roars and grips his hammer in anger. "How did this happen. Why were we not summoned?"

"Believe me, I tried, but Amora was prepared this time. She got the drop on me."

"Stark, back up. What happened?" Natasha asks.

"She ambushed us on the roof, grabbed Steve and threatened to kill him if I didn't cooperate. I didn't have a choice," Tony turns to Clint. "Barton, what did you guys find out from the creep that tried to steal Steve on the Helicarrier?"

"Not much," Clint sighs. "Watermen was tight-lipped. He's not going to give up who he's working for without a lot of 'encouragement'. Fury is going to be working on him to see if he can get him to spill what he knows."

"Is it fair for us to assume that he's working with Amora?" Bruce asks.

"No," Natasha sighs. "I don't think he is. He didn't show any signs of recognition when we showed him her photo. I used all the tricks I could think of to trap him in his lies about not knowing her and having nothing to do with her, but he never fell for a single one. It could be that he's just that good, but I think there's more going on here than what we realize."

"So there might be someone else trying to get to Steve?" Bruce scrubs his hands over his face. "What are we going to do?"

Tony suits up into the Iron Man armor and answers the scientist after his helmet locks into place over his face. "We're going to get him back."

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

The first thing Steve is aware of is the freezing air surrounding him. A bitterly cold breeze snaps at his skin and he's reminded that he has only his pajamas to protect him from the weather. He slowly pushes himself up off of the ground and finds that he's been put inside some sort of a cage. The bars are thick and uneven and the ground is very hard and dirty. The enclosure is tall enough that he can stand, but just barely, and it's wide enough that Steve would have to take 5 long strides to get from one side to the other.

He slowly stands and peers out from behind the rough bars. Steve looks around and realizes that he's in the middle of a tree and the bars are branches twisting and weaving over each other to create an enclosure. There is enough space between the bars that Steve can clearly see through them. Some of them have fairly wide gaps, but not wide enough for Steve to fit through. The branches eventually come together more tightly overhead to create a ceiling and preventing escape. All of the bars, the ceiling, and the floor are covered in patches of frozen ice.

Outside of the enclosure, the dead, leafless branches provide some protection from the bitter cold, but gusts of cold air still find their way through. There is a small blanket lumped in a pile in the corner. Steve picks it up and tightly wraps it around himself. He's relieved to see Bart sitting under the blanket and he picks up the fuzzy dog and hugs him close.

"H-hello," Steve quietly calls out, unsure if he really wants someone to answer or not. His small voice echoes out into the frozen, barren landscape. There is a heavy fog that has settled across the ground. The terrain is mostly dirt and stone covered in frost and snow. The dead ground is broken up with patches of solid ice that is littered randomly throughout the landscape. There is no grass and a few sad excuses for trees peek out from the dense fog.

He can see his breath mist in front of his face in the frigid air. It's deathly silent over the arctic, barren landscape when a lone figure starts to walk into view. Steve can only make out a silhouette in the thick fog.

"Tony? Clint?" Steve whispers while he tries to make out who the man could be. Another figure comes up behind the first and another and another. Steve slowly retreats into the middle of the cage. As they come closer, Steve can see their faces and he pulls his knees up to his chest with Bart in front of him while he tries to make himself as small as possible. Each one wears torn and ragged clothes over their emaciated and rotting bodies. Long strands of unkempt hair obscures much of their face, but what Steve can see is frightening. Missing eyes, necks that have been slit, missing chunks of flesh. There are so many of them now and Steve tries to stifle a whimper while he hides his head behind Bart.

"Be gone. Go back to your posts," a woman orders and the frightening army retreats back into the mist as quickly as they had appeared. The woman walks into view of Steve. He can only see one side of her face. She is beautiful, but cold at the same time. Her pale skin glows in the foggy morning. A small strand of dark hair falls from behind her black hood that is attached to a long cape that covers the rest of her body.

"W-who are you?" Steve cautiously walks back to the front of the cage.

"My name is Hel, Little One," She bows her head and faces Steve, her hood and hair obscuring most of her face and her eyes downcast.

"I'm Steve, Ma'am. Can you please tell me where am I? Who were those people?"

"You have been brought to Helheim, my realm and kingdom within Neflheim. It is a land of mist and ice where the dead come to rest."

"A woman took me away from my friends and brought me here. Could you please help me find them?"

"I am afraid not, Little One," She lifts her head and reveals her face and opens her eyes. Steve takes a step back when she comes closer. Although she was beautiful in profile, the other side of her face is marred and diseased. The left side of her face is a deathly purple hue with scabs and lesions covering her skin. It stands out in stark contrast to her beautiful pale skin on her right. Her stunning dark hair cascades down her face on the right while only patches of thin hair covers her left. Her teeth are exposed through a large slash in her left cheek and her eyes are black and empty. "Your friends will not be coming."

"You're wrong. They're going to come and save me! Just wait and see," Steve insists, panic beginning to well up in his chest.

"Understand, Little One, that your friends will not be coming because your friends are dead. You are right, the did try to rescue you, but Amora was too much for them and she destroyed them."

"No!" Steve yells through tears. "They're stronger than she is. She wouldn't have been able to hurt them."

"Not hurt. Kill," Hel corrects, emotionless to Steve's tears. "If you don't believe me, look for yourself." The woman holds a rotting hand up and five figures come into view. Steve crawls to the edge of the cage and stares at them, trying to make out the figures and hopeful that these are his friends coming to save him.

"No," Steve whispers when they finally come into view. Each face is familiar, but not the same as he remembers them. They're cold, unseeing, and marked by death, like the others that were surrounding his prison before. "Clint! Bruce! Thor! It's me! Steve! Tasha! Can you hear me? Tony! Please! help me!" Steve pleads. They simply walk by him, never reacting or even looking at him. It's as though he wasn't even there. Steve falls forward onto his hands and knees, tears streaming and his body shaking at the sight of his lost friends.

"Fear not," Hel walks over to Steve. "You shall be joining them soon." The woman disappears into the mist and Steve collapses onto his side and cries for his friends. He hugs Bart, the only friend he has left, and cries until sleep finally takes him.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

"Did he believe you?" Amora asks when Hel arrives at the small pavilion where Amora has been staying.

"Yes, it was not difficult to convince him," Hel comes to stand alongside Amora. "A simple conjuring of fake copies of his friends was all it took. He believes himself to be alone. He will not resist when you come for him this night."

"Excellent," Amora smiles. "Everything is working exactly as I have planned."

"Just remember your side of our agreement," Hel reminds the witch. "I shall rule over Midgard and when you over throw Odin, I am to have the honor of destroying him."

"I have not forgotten," Amora frowns. "But victory is not ours yet. Even though that creature thinks his friends are dead, the reality is that they are still very much alive. They shall come for him and they will be angry. Especially the Iron One. He has a special attachment to the beast and he will not be happy when he arrives."

"My army will be more than enough to drive the Avengers back."

"See to it that it is. Now leave me. I must prepare for tonight." Hel frowns at the witch, but reluctantly takes her leave.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

"Call it, Thor," Tony orders. The man is anxious and mad. All he really wants right now it to punch something, preferably Amora.

"Heimdall!" Thor calls. "Open the Bifrost!" Instantly the Avengers are transported, traveling and breakneck speed through the Bifrost. They each enter the room where Heimdall is waiting for them.

"Hello, old friend," Thor greets Heimdall and the guard bows to his prince. "Tell me, have you found our friend?"

"He is being hidden from my view," Heimdall frowns. "There is powerful and dark magic at work to shield him from me."

"Indeed," Thor sighs. "Amora is using her evil magic to her full advantage. She will no doubt have gone to Neflheim to prepare for the winter solstice."

"But where in Neflheim?" Natasha asks. "She has a whole realm to hide in."

"And I doubt we're going to be able to just walk in and be welcomed in with open arms," Clint adds.

"We just need to get there. Once we're there, leave finding Steve to me," Tony replies.

"How?" Natasha asks suspiciously.

"His watch."

"The Iron Man watch you made him?" Bruce asks, remembering the day that Tony gave it to him. It seems so long ago that they were rushing Steve up the stairs during his asthma attack when it was really only a couple days ago.

"It's not just a watch. It has a tracer in it. I'm not sure if it will work in another realm, but it's worth a shot."

"If we can trace him we can find him," Bruce starts. "But what's the plan going to be to rescue him once we find him?"

"What are we dealing with in Neflheim, Thor?" Clint asks the Asgardian.

"It is a land of death and ice," Thor begins. "It is a barren, frozen land. Nothing grows there and there are great storms that ravage the land. There are no people, no trees, no animals. It is a land that is truly a place suitable only for the dead. Hel is the one who rules this realm and the dead who dwell there.

"Who is Hel?" Natasha asks, not sure if she really wants to know the answer.

"She is the goddess who originally tried and failed to enact the curse that Amora is now attempting. She is dangerous. She rules over the unworthy dead, the ones who have gone to their graves after living a life of cowardice, selfishness, and evil. They follow only her order. Amora would not be able to enter Helheim without Hel knowing. That means that she is either, as the Son of Coul says, 'laying low' and will be difficult to find or she has struck some sort of agreement with Hel and they are working together which would prove most difficult for us. Both are ruthless, cunning, and evil. Our Captain would be in grave danger if this is the case."

"He's already in grave danger," Tony seethes. "He's been kidnapped by crazy Norse gods who want to rip out his heart."

"Tony," Bruce starts gently. "I know you're stressing out and you're worried…."

"You're damn right I'm stressed out. She's going to kill Steve and we're all standing here having a party when we should be out there saving him!" Tony interrupts.

"We are all worried, but we need you to focus. What's our game plan?" Bruce finishes his sentence, ignoring Tony's outburst.

"We get in, we get out. No bullshit or bravado. We just grab the kid and get the hell out of there, no pun intended."

"You really suck at this whole 'plan' thing," Clint grumbles while he thinks about how helpful it would be to have their master tactician right about now.

"Look, I am trying," Tony signs. "But I am _not_ good at this kind of thing. I'm not Cap and I will be the first one to admit to that, happily, but I need you guys to just help me out here."

"Alright, Tony," Bruce walks up to the frustrated man. "We trust you and we know you'll figure this out."

"Aye," Thor booms and lifts his hammer. "We are with you Man of Iron."

"We've got your back, Tony," Clint stands with Natasha. "Even if you don't have plan or a clue."

"Thanks," Tony smiles. "I think… Alright, enough of this mushy crap. Thor, what is our best option for entering without Hel or Amora finding out?"

"This task will be most difficult. There are ancient secret passages outside of the Bifrost that lead to different realms," Thor glances at Heimdell who gives him a grave look. "They are dangerous and many have died attempting to use them."

"That sounds like something that's right up our alley," Clint smirks.

"Can you get us in?" Natasha asks the demi-god.

Aye," Thor answers. "We may gain access to Neflheim secretly, but once we step foot into Hel's kingdom, she will know of our presence."

"Good enough. Let's go," Tony puts his helmet on and Thor leads them into Asguard. Once inside the city, Thor acquisitions a ship for them and they fly out over the water. The Thunder-god thinks back to the last time he took one of these routes with Loki. As the water sprays up over the bow of the boat he allows himself a brief moment to miss his brother and to remember their childhood growing up together. The moment, however, is only just that: a moment. Now his attention must be focused on keeping his current family safe and to save their missing member. He skillfully weaves the ship in-between pillars of rocks jutting up out of the water and under archways.

"Ugh, are we almost there, Thor?" Bruce moans while he turns green for a completely different reason than normal.

"We are nearly to the entry point, Dr. Banner," Thor assures the man as he leans over the edge of the boat and spills his lunch into the rushing water. No sooner has Thor said the words do they begin to approach a sheer cliff. Thor steers the ship straight ahead on a collision corse.

"Thor?" Clint asks with some concern, but the Thunderer continues on, pulling the ship up sharply and straight up into the air at the last possible second. Clint is fairly certain he heard the bow of the ship scrape the rock. They climb higher and higher before Thor flips the ship backwards, tipping the nose down and diving straight toward the ocean below.

"Thor!" Clint yells this time, but he continues on his trajectory into the ocean, unflinching and unwavering. Before any of of them can react the ship hits the water. The boat's aquatic systems come online and some kind of shield has been generated over the passenger area. The ship slices through the water and they fly ahead faster and faster. The water around them starts to blur and turn white. A glowing light envelopes them and it feels as though the ship is going to be torn apart as it shakes and creaks. Then there is just stillness. Peaceful and utterly silent stillness. The ship rises to the top of the water and the force shield quietly powers down.

"Are we dead?" Clint asks, not wanting to open his eyes that are squeezed shut.

"Nay," Thor answers. 'But we are now among them." Clint opens his eyes to see the misty, frozen tundra ahead of them. "Welcome to Neflheim; land of the dead."

"You couldn't have mentioned the boat was aquatic or that we would have to crash into the ocean to get to this portal?" Tony yells, not really angry, more frantic at his near-death experience at the hands of someone who is supposed to be on his side.

"My apologise, Man of Iron," Thor bows. "I did not think to mention it."

"Didn't think to mention it," Tony repeats in disbelief.

"Is everyone okay?" Natasha calls from the front of the boat.

"Aye," Thor answers. "Tis an invigorating ride!"

"I think I need a new pair of shorts," Clint reports while he shakily stands from his seat.

"Pretty sure I just threw up a penny I ate when I was four," Bruce calls from the edge of the boat.

"It's a good thing I installed the urine recycler in the suit last month," Tony shares.

"Good, now that we've all shared far too much, lets get to shore," Natasha sighs.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Steve is laying on his side in his cold tree prison. He's not sure how long he's been there or what time it is. All he knows is that his friends are gone and he's alone, cold, and scared. No one has come or gone in a very long time, but he can hear someone walking off in the distance. He first thought that it was just a lonely soul wandering aimlessly in this place where they now have to spend eternity, but he hears the shuffling again and again throughout the day. The more he listens, the more he thinks it sounds as though someone is walking back and fourth. Like he's guarding him.

_'Why would they need to guard me if my friends are dead?' _Steve thinks to himself.

He sits up and listens intently. He can make out a pattern in the sounds, like the person is marching a certain stretch of land. Steve is convinced he's been lied to and a new hope rises in his heart. His friends are coming and he needs to get out of there and find them. He walks up to the bars of the tree cage and picks out two that are covered in ice and he remembers the story he told Tony earlier and how Tony said that ice makes things break more easily.

Steve has an idea. He takes his blanket and wraps it around the bars and twists the blanket on itself. It gets tighter and tighter around the bars and it's becoming more difficult to twist it, but Steve pushes with all his strength. Finally, he hears a snap. He freezes and looks at the bars. Then he hears another crack and another. Finally, the tree bars start to show signs of breaking. Steve twists the blanket as far as he can and a few more cracks are heard. He unwraps the blanket and inspects the bars. There's a large crack in one and Steve stands and kicks it as hard as he can and the weakened branch snaps and flies off.

He quickly runs and grabs Bart. He throws the toy dog out of the hole and watches him fall all the way to the ground before he carefully wiggles out of the very small space between the bars and starts to climb down the tree. Steve is about six feet off the ground, but when you're a small kid it looks a lot higher. He grips the wide tree trunk tightly.

He remembers the last time he climbed a tree and how he was not very good at it. He wishes Bucky were here right now. He was the best tree climber in the neighborhood. He had set the record by climbing to the top of the huge oak tree in the park. A lot of the other boys had tried to break his record, but no one had made it even close. Steve makes it to the ground and thinks about how proud Bucky would have been if he had seen him.

Steve picks up Bart off the ground and quickly runs into the mist to search for his friends. _They're alive and they're looking for me,_ he repeats over and over to himself, ignoring the cold and fear. He just keeps running.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Amora is pacing by the mouth of a huge cavern. She has moved from her pavilion into the cavern where the great river of Hvergelmir flows out from. The river is the source of all the rivers in the nine realms and where the creation began. This is where the sacrifice must take place once the sun sets and the night has begun.

"Go and collect our guest and bring him to me," Amora orders one of Hel's servants. He glances to Hel, who nods in approval, and the servant bows and leaves to bring Steve back.

"Are you certain you can contain this power," Hel asks.

"Do you doubt my strength?" Amora glares at the other woman.

"If you fail to contain the power we will be defenseless against the Avengers," Hel responds, avoiding the question. "And to be defenseless after killing their Captain will prove to be a death sentence."

"Do not worry about saving yourself," Amora spits. "I _will_ succeed and the power of all the nine realms will be mine. There is no way that they will reach him in time. The sun is already preparing to set."

"Do not underestimate their wrath, Amora," Hel warns. "Their Captain may still be alive, but the possibility of his death drives them even stronger."

"Hm, love," Amora remembers Tony's words at their last meeting. "Even if they do arrive before the sun sets, they will not be able to stop us. The power will soon be mine."

"Amora," the servant returns, but he returns empty-handed. Amora turns to see that the child is not with him and she instantly tenses.

"Where is the child?" She screams.

"I went to retrieve him as you ordered," the servant shakes. "But the child was gone when I reached the prison."

"There is no way that he could have escaped that cage on his own," Hel assures.

"The bars, they were broken," the servant offers nervously.

"They were broken?" Amora yells. "Hel, have the Avengers come and gone under your very nose in your own kingdom and stolen away our prize?"

"Not possible," she hisses at the witch for even daring to accuse her of such incompetence.

"Then where is he?" Amira seethes.

"I do not know, but we shall find him. Go," she orders the servant. "Gather your men, find him, and bring him back here _alive_.' The servant immediately follows his orders, thankful to leave the presence of the angry witches.

"We must find him soon or this will all be for naught."

"My men will find him and when they do we will enact the spell and absolute power will be within our grasp."

"Within my grasp," Amora corrects and Hel narrows her eyes at the woman. She is about to speak when something grabs her attention. She stares back behind her into the fog. "What is is?" Amora demands.

"He is here."


	8. Chapter 8

**Young America - Chapter 8**

Stupid, no good, piece of shit," Tony mumbles while he makes another adjustment to the control panel on his wrist that will track the watch he gave to Steve. "JARVIS, run another diagnostic scan on the tracking system."

"Running scan," the AI confirms. The other Avengers are waiting for the inventor to figure out how to track Steve in this realm. They've been siting on the shore where they had landed their Asgardian boat for the last hour while Tony has been struggling with the machine. They are getting anxious as, what they are assuming is Neflheim's' equivalent to a sun, is setting in the distance.

"You built it, Tony," Clint jabs while he adjusts his bow. "The invention is only as good as its inventor."

"Shut up, Barton," Tony shoots back, but never taking his eyes off the device. Clint raises his hands in surrender and goes back to inspecting his bow and arrows.

"Seriously Tony," Bruce starts. "If you can't get the thing to work we need to just start moving and looking for Steve."

"It will work," Tony insists. "Just give me another minute and stop talking."

"We don't have time for this," Natasha whispers to Bruce as she come's along side him. He is about to answer when a garbled message comes over each of their comm-links.

"…..vengers…..come in…danger…Waterme…do y…..copy….."

"Fury?" Clint stands and presses a finger to his ear wig. "Fury, please repeat, over."

"JARVIS, can you boost the communicators?"

"I already have, Sir. That is the best I can do."

"Shit," Tony sighs as another broken transmission comes through.

"…trap…atermen worki…..for…..nd he's already there…idnap Steve….." The transmission is cut off and only static comes through.

"Damn it. What are we supposed to do with that?" Clint frowns in frustration.

"He said something about Watermen," Bruce looks at Tony with a worried glance. "He said that whoever he's working for is already here."

"This Man of Water, he is the one who attempted to take Steven?" Thor asks.

"Yes, _Watermen_," Tony rolls his eyes at Thor's usual Asgardian mispronunciation," He is the one who tried and failed to take Steve on the Helicarrier. Fury must have finished interrogating him and found out who he was working for and, evidentially, his boss is already here.

"Great," Clint sighs. "So now we have two crazies going after Steve and we're no closer to finding him."

"Doesn't matter how many people are gunning for Steve," Natasha steps forward. "All that matters is that he's here somewhere and we need to find him first." She points her gaze to Tony who is still tinkering with the tracking device. Natasha is about to tell him to give it up when she's interrupted.

"Ha!" Tony shoots up to his feet in success. "I got it! I told you it would work!" Tony smirks in smug satisfaction. The tracker instantly transmits Steve's signal to the HUD inside Tony's helmet.

"Fine. You're the best inventor ever. Can we get moving now?" Clint sighs sarcastically and picks up his weapons.

"Damn straight, I'm the best," Tony smirks again before he turns to walk in the direction Steve is. "Don't worry Steve. We're coming for you."

* * *

Steve's little legs are starting to ache from running and the bitter cold nipping at his skin through his clothes. His footy-pajamas don't offer much for protection or insulation against the frozen ground and his feet have gone numb a long time ago. He ignores the chill and the fear and pushes through to find his friends.

A sharp snap of a tree branch in the distance causes Steve to skid to a halt mid-step. A small surge of hope rises in his chest that he's finally found Tony and the Avengers. He turns and runs toward the noise, but quickly freezes when he sees an unfamiliar man walking toward him. He quickly hides behind a crumbling stone ruin and crouches down with his back pressed against the wall. Steve gathers his courage and dares to peer around the edge of the wall to see if he can get a better look at the stranger.

The man is still slowly walking in his direction. His dark, shoulder length hair stands out strong against his pale skin. He is an average height with a lean build and seems non-threatening enough. He looks like he's looking for something as he scans the landscape, checking under small trees and behind rocks. From what Steve can see, he appears to be alive and not dead like the all the other people who live in this place.

"Hello," the strange man calls when he catches a glimpse of Steve peeking out from behind his hiding spot. "Hello, there," he calls again. Steve instantly darts back behind the wall. He can hear the man coming closer and closer. Steve is scared, too scared to run. He's frozen where he sits. The man comes around the ruin and sees Steve pressed into the stone wall. He kneels next to him and Steve hides his face behind Bart. "Hey, I'm not going to hurt you. Are you lost?" Steve cautiously peers out from behind Bart and looks at the man.

"I'm not supposed to talk to strangers, Mister," Steve frowns. The man smiles gently at Steve and scoots a little closer.

"Is your name Steve?" The man asks.

Steve studies the man's face for a moment to try to place him, but he's not familiar. "Do I know you, Mister?"

"No, but I know your friend Tony. He sent me to help find you," The man sits next to Steve.

"Tony is alive? And he sent you to look for me?" Steve's face lights up.

"Indeed, Little One. He is very worried about you and he asked me to help find you."

"How do I know you really know Tony?" Steve eyes the man suspiciously. He seems like a very kind man, but Steve knows that people lie. His father always seemed like a kind man in front of other people, but Steve knows the monster that lurked under the kind exterior.

"That's a very good question," the man ponders for a moment. "What would you like me to do to prove that I know your friend Tony."

Steve thinks for a moment before turning to the man. "Who did Tony say took me away?"

"Well, he said that a woman named 'Amora' took you from them last night, right?" Steve nods suspiciously. "If it helps I also know your friends Natasha, Clint, Bruce, and Thor. I've also met Fury and Coulson too."

"You know Co-son?" Steve smiles. The man nods and grins back.

"I do know Coulson. What do you think, Steve? Would you like to come with me and I shall bring you to Tony and your friends?" Steve is convinced, unaware of that the man knows Amora was searching for him not because Tony told him, but because the man heard of Amora's plans and now wants to take the power for himself. Steve also does not know that the only reason the man knows the Avengers is because he's fought them before as an enemy.

Steve stands and looks up at the man with a smile before he takes his hand.

"Good. Now, it's horribly cold out here. What do you say we find somewhere warm to stay for the night and we'll find Tony first thing in the morning. Steve nods and is relieved at the thought of finding someplace to warm up. He's been cold ever since he was brought here.

"Thank you for helping me find my friends, Mister."

"Please," The man smiles and takes Steve's little hand in his. "Call me Loki."

* * *

"How is he here?" Amora shouts and destroys another large chunk of ground with her magic. "How are all my best laid plans now crumbling before me?" Amora sends another blast of her magic into a small tree, immediately igniting the dry timber into a small fire. Each angry breath fogs into the cold evening air as she stands in front of Hel, searching for answers.

"Throwing tantrums will not fix any of this," Hel frowns and Amora snaps a deadly glare at the woman.

"Do not forget who is the one who will wield the power that you failed to contain the last time," Amora sneers and Executioner takes a step forward with his axe at the ready.

"And you would do well not to forget who's kingdom you are in," Hel glares and a small portion of her army appears from the mist. The two stand opposite one another, studying each other and weighing their options. Hel raises a calming hand to try to ease the situation. She needs Amora to make this work just as much as Amora needs her. "We need to focus and find the child before Loki or the Avengers do. All will be lost for us if Loki is able to enact the spell or the Avengers rescue the child before we are able to carry out our plan." Amora knows that Hel is right and calms her anger.

"Alright," Amora starts, realizing she also needs Hel to complete her plan. The Avengers have already stopped her twice from taking Steve and she needs help to keep them from interfering. "It is time that we cease watching and waiting. This all will end tonight, one way or another, and we must do everything in our power to ensure that it ends favorably for us. It is time we take back what is ours. Ready your army for battle. Set a group of them to guard the cavern. Loki must perform the spell here for it to work. If he has the child he will be forced to bring him to us and we shall be ready for him. Send the rest of your army out to meet the Avengers in battle and take the child if they are in possession of him. No matter who has him, he will be ours again soon."

"They shall find him," Hel assures. "Ready your men," she turns and orders one of the undead soldiers in her charge. "You leave immediately." The soldier bows before he leaves and Hel's face cracks into an evil grin.

* * *

The Avengers have been walking across the frozen landscape for the last half an hour, following the little blip on Tony's screen in the hopes of finding Steve. "Are we getting any closer?" Clint asks.

"We're gaining ground, but the kid is on the move," Tony answers before stopping suddenly in his tracks, causing Clint to run into him.

"Watch it, Stark," Clint scolds, but stops when he sees why Tony has stopped. The other Avengers look ahead at what Tony is staring at. The outlines of people start to show through the mist.

"JARVIS." Tony signals the AI to scan the horde coming toward them.

"I am not picking up any life signs, Sir."

"These are not living beings," Thor grasps Mjolnir, preparing for battle. "These are the dead that are under Hel's rule. They come to keep us from our Captain."

The Avengers are all on their guard as the corpses begin to close in. Thor is the first to act, immediately charging in with his hammer swinging. With two sweeps of Mjolnir he clears out a large chunk of the advancing army, but for every group he takes out another is there to take their place. Iron Man backs him up and takes to the sky, firing his repulsers into the crowd. Clint and Natasha stand back to back while firing a spray of arrows and bullets, each one hitting their mark, but they continue to advance with bullet holes and arrows riddling their bodies. Natasha hits one straight through the head and it falls to the ground.

"Head shots only, Barton," Natasha reports to her partner.

"Got it," he confirms and starts aiming for heads. "Are we really fighting zombies in another dimension right now?" Clint asks in disbelief.

"Seems to be that way," Natasha answers as she empties another clip into the crowd. "It'd be more fun in those Winchester boys were here to help us out."

"That's not funny," Clint frowns, annoyed that Natasha is talking about attractive men that aren't him.

"I'm just saying, nothing wrong with looking at something pretty while fighting the undead," Natasha grins a mischievous grin to Clint. The Archer gives her a look before he sends an arrow into the eye socket of one of the advancing horde. The arrow explodes and countless scraps of shrapnel fly out, hitting dozens more of the enemy.

"Let's see the Winchesters do that," Clint rests his bow on his shoulder, flexes his arm, and shoots Natasha smug glance. She only shakes her head at him with a smirk and continues to fire.

"Hey, if you two love birds are done fluffing your plumage at each other we could use some help over here," Tony snaps with his usual snark that comes out during a battle. Before Clint and Natasha can respond a giant, green blur flies past the Iron Avenger and the ground shakes as he lands. Tony turns just in time to dodge a corpse being thrown his way while Hulk tears through the lines of the enemy.

"Hulk SMASH!"

"Do not be selfish, Friend-Hulk," Thor calls. "Allow us to have some of the fun as well!" He calls lightning down from the sky and into the crowd of undead enemies, sending them flying back and scorching the frozen ground beneath them.

"For the record, you can have my share of the fun," Tony offers. "Please, I insist." The Avengers are driving the enemy horde back and they quickly retreat back and disappearing into the mist.

"Puny army," Hulk growls before shrinking back down to Bruce.

"Come on," Tony calls. "We're getting close. We need to keep moving."

* * *

Steve is tired. He has been walking or running for the majority of the day and he hasn't eaten anything since last night. Loki finally decided to carry the kid after he started to lag behind. Now Steve has his little arms wrapped around Loki's neck as he carries him through the mist. His eyes are growing heavy with the steady movement of the man's steps while he watches a tree slowly pass by every now and then as they walk.

"Loki?" Steve asks quietly.

"Yes?" Loki answers.

"Are we going to see Tony soon?"

"Very soon, Little One." Steve lays his head on the man's shoulder and continues to watch the landscape pass by.

"And then we can go home?" Steve asks.

"Yes. Then we can all go home," Loki replies.

"Where is your home?" Steve asks curiously.

"My home is in a very far away land."

"Does your family live there?"

"No."

"Do you miss your family?"

"I don't have a family anymore," Loki answers and tires to hide the sharpness in his answer.

"You don't have any family?" Steve asks sadly.

"No, not anymore."

"What happened to them?"

"They died," Loki answers flatly. Steve pulls away from Loki's shoulder to look the man in the face. His sad blue eyes meet his sad green eyes for a moment before he gives the man a big hug. Loki stops walking and looks down at the child in confusion as Steve squeezes his arms tighter around his neck.

"I'm sorry," Steve says quietly, not letting go of the man. "I haven't seen my mom in a long time and I miss her a lot. You must miss your mom even more." Loki frowns at the thought of his mother. At the memory of the last time he saw her and the words that he said to her. How cruel and angry they were.

"I do miss her," Loki admits. "I miss her a great deal."

Steve releases the man from his hug and looks at him again. "Bucky and Tony say that even though we don't have the same parents we're still brothers. We're family." Steve puts his cold little hands on Loki's face and holds the man's gaze to his. "You can be family too," Steve takes Loki's hand and turns it into a fist and fist bumps him. "Brothers," he smiles.

Loki can only stare at he child in shock. He's completely caught off guard and is unsure how to react. Steve simply smiles at him before laying his head back down on the man's shoulder and Loki continues to walk, lost in his own thoughts.

* * *

The two of them finally arrive at the cave. Loki surveys the scene with Steve from behind a small line of trees. The entrance to the cavern is heavily guarded by Hel's army. Loki knows that the only way that they're going to get in is to do it quietly and stealthily. There's no way that he can get through that army even with his magic and cunning mind. He looks over the landscape to decide what the best option for them to get to the cavern unnoticed is. There is a small line of ruins to the side of the cavern. Some of them are wide spread and there is little cover, but Loki is fast and knows how to move without being seen or heard. He'll have to figure out how to get in once they're closer to the entrance.

"Alright, Steve,' Loki puts Steve on the ground and kneels in front of him. "That cavern is where we're gong to go to warm up, but we have to do it quietly without all those people down there seeing us, okay?" Steve nods and Loki hoists him up onto his back like he's giving him a piggy back ride. "Just stay quiet no matter what you see or what happens and hold on tight, okay?"

"Okay," Steve quietly answers and tightens his grip on Loki.

The two of them quietly make their way out from the cover of the tiny trees and Loki starts the slow journey down as quietly as he can manage with Steve on his back. They make it to the first set of ruins without being noticed. He peers out from behind the wall to watch the awaiting army only a about a hundred yards away.

Loki breaths in deeply before he quickly dashes to the next set of ruins. One of the nearby soldiers points his gaze toward their direction and walks over to investigate. The two of them hold their breath as the soldier scans the ruins before returning to his post.

They wait a few moments before they dare move to the next and final ruin. Loki is about to make his move when a voice yells from the crowd that makes his blood run cold.

"What do you think you're doing?" Amora yells and Loki's heart sinks. They've been caught. Loki turns to face the witch when his heart sinks in relief. "I told you to guard this whole area! Why are you all packed together? You should be spread out! They could be here right under our noses!" Amora yells at the army and holds her hand out to emphasize the vastness of the land. The army stands and stares at her without moving.

"Do as she says," Hel orders. "Spread out and keep an eye open for them." The soldiers immediately spread out. "I told you they only listen to me," Hel smiles.

"Just make sure they keep their eyes open," Amora snarls. "They're here somewhere and we're all running out of time." They both look to the sky and only a small sliver of the sun remains above the horizon.

Loki sees that his window of time is closing as the soldiers begin to spread out. If they stay here much longer they will be discovered. He quickly dashes to the side of the cavern before ducking behind a large crevasse in the side of the cavern. The entrance is wide, about 15 feet wide and 20 feet tall. The majority of the cavern itself is under ground. The opening makes up most of the above ground portion, but there is a small incline to the ground where the entrance begins before it goes completely under ground.

Loki and Steve are standing behind the crevasse no more than 30 feet away from the nearest soldier. He slowly and cautiously makes his way out of their hiding spot, hugging the edge of the rock. They make their way closer to the entrance step by step. They're only a very short distance away, but it feels like it takes them an eternity before they're safely inside the mouth of the cavern.

The two of them stay close to the edge of the cavern and start to descend. It's dark and damp and the way is lit by an occasional torch. The silence is broken when a huge explosion shakes the ground and bits of rock and dust fall from the ceiling. Steve buries his face into Loki's back when another explosion nearly knocks Loki off his feet. There is yelling and the sound of weapons fire and thunder outside.

"Come, Steve, We much hurry," Loki starts to run, but he's cut off by a small army of Hel's soldiers. He freezes and backs up as the group start to advance toward him. He slowly sets Steve down and gestures for him to hide. Steve does as he is told and runs to the side of the cavern and tucks himself into a small crack in the wall.

Once Steve is out of the way, Loki turns his attention to the army in front of him. He pulls out his knives and charges into the horde before he projects himself across the cavern and surrounding the group o f soldiers. He takes advantage of their hesitation and starts swinging and slicing his knives into the undead-army.

Outside of the cave is just as chaotic. The Avengers are on the scene and they are fighting through an army of their own. Thor sends lighting down into wave after wave of soldiers while Clint and Natasha provide as much ground cover as they can. Hulk charges at Hel, but she simply raises her hand and what was once a small, dying tree springs up out of the ground, it's dark branches gripping him and catching him mid air. He struggles to fight off the restraining branches while Hel simply stands and laughs as she continues to manipulate the branches to keep the monster at bay.

"I'm going after Steve!" Tony yells over the comm-link. "Keep these guys busy!" Tony speeds into the cavern, following the blip on his HUD that's supposed to be Steve, and races down the tunnel until he reaches a huge room inside. The room slopes down sharply and is almost shaped like a large stadium. There is a ledge running all the way around the the perimeter of the space with a few steep stair cases leading down to the bottom. Huge torches along the perimeter as well as four massive torches that look more like fire pits at the bottom of the room light up the cavern. In the center of the cave floor is a large, round platform with a slab of stone in the center. The platform has small trenches carved into it that look like they are stained with old blood. Each trench radiates out from the center of the platform near the stone to the outer edge of the platform.

Tony scans the room and is instantly relieved when he sees little Steve climbing down to the bottom of the room. His relief is totally erased when he sees someone helping him down the last few stairs. He looks closer to see who this man is and his heart sinks.

"Steve!" Tony calls as he lands in front of Loki. "Steve, get away from him."

"Tony!" Steve cries in excitement. "You're alive and you found me!" Steve starts to run to Tony when Loki stops him.

"Let him go," Tony orders as he points his repulsers at the man when Loki pulls Steve close to him with a smirk on his face.

"Steve is my friend now, Tony. You wouldn't want to hurt one of Steve's friends, would you?" Loki gives Iron Man a look of mock-sadness.

"Tony, this is Loki. Don'tcha remember him? He's your friend you sent to help find me," Steve looks from Loki to Tony in confusion.

"He's not my friend, Steve. Whatever he told you is a lie. He's very dangerous and I need you to step away from him." Steve looks up at Loki with sad and confused eyes as he starts to back away.

"I'm sorry, Steve," Loki frowns at the little boy. "I did enjoy you being my friend for a little while, but I have to do this." He quickly grabs Steve up and holds a knife to his throat. Steve struggles and grasps at Loki's arm that's wrapped tightly around his chest.

"Loki, why are you doing this? We're friends," Steve cries.

"Let him go, Loki!" Tony powers his repulsers so they glow bright, threatening to go off at the slightest move.

"Why would I do that? When absolute power is nearly within my grasp," Loki presses the knife closer to Steve's neck. "Now stand down. Your weapons are making me nervous and my hands get shaky when I'm nervous," Loki pretends to shake his hand holding the knife near Steve's neck. Iron Man powers down his repulsers and backs away slightly.

"That's more like it," Loki smiles and starts to circle around Tony toward the stone. He sets Steve down, but never taking the knife off of his neck or his eyes off of Tony. "Say goodbye to your friend, Stark."

"Steve," Tony lifts up the the mask on his helmet so Steve can see him. "It's going to be okay, do you hear me? Just close your eyes."

Steve nods through his tears and closes his eyes like Tony told him to and Tony does the same. Loki laughs in exhilaration that undeniable power nearly his and he raises his knife to deliver the final blow.


	9. Chapter 9

**Young America - Chapter 9**

** Hey everyone! This chapter practically wrote itself and I finished it waayyy faster than it normally takes me to write a chapter. I hope you all enjoy this and prepare yourself for the feels! ^_^**

**(Side note: Check out my new story "Don't Wake Me": A story of how Steve is critically injured in an attack by the Chitauri. Now unconscious and in critical condition with his super soldier serum suppressed by an alien toxin, Cap's team pushes him to fight for his life, but fighting for his life means rejecting the dream he's living. If Steve stays asleep he gets to live the life he never had with the woman he loves: Peggy Carter, but to wake up and fight the toxin will tear that dream apart. Will Steve have the strength to choose his team over the woman he loves?) **

Loki's hand is raised high with his knife held firmly in his grasp. Steve is kneeling in front of him, facing Tony, with his eyes closed tightly like the man had told him to do. The moment feels like it lasts forever as it plays out before Tony's eyes in slow motion. Loki's knife begins to fall forward toward Steve's heart when Tony closes his eyes tightly before he triggers a blinding flash from his armor. Loki cries out in pain from the flash and raises his arm to shield his eyes, but its too late.

Tony watches everything play out in front of him. Loki stumbles back, swinging the knife wildly in his blind stupor while Steve stays frozen where he sits. Tony gets ready to propel himself into Loki to take him down when a flash of green flies across his vision, grabbing Steve up and everything suddenly snaps back into reality. Tony shoots forward and tackles Loki to the ground and knocks the knife out of his grip. He quickly glances over his shoulder to look for Steve.

The Hulk stands behind Tony with Steve curled up and shaking in his giant green hands. Steve slowly pulls his head out from behind his hands and looks up at Hulk with fear in his eyes. The monster gently puts Steve down on the ground and the small child slowly backs away, but never turning his back or taking his terrified eyes off of him. Hulk frowns and tries to take a step closer to Steve when something hits him in the back. He turns to see Amora standing behind him with Executioner looming by her side. She fires another blast of her magic, but this time she aims for the wall above Steve. Her blast knocks a portion of the wall loose and it starts to tumble down on Steve.

Steve flinches and prepares himself to be buried in the rubble, but nothing happens. He slowly dares to open his eyes and looks up to see Hulk sheltering him from the rock slide and the stones and boulders bounce uselessly off of his back. He stares up at the giant, green beast as he sacrifices himself to save him and suddenly he doesn't seem quite to scary.

Once the rock slide stops Hulk quickly turns to face his attackers. Amora fires her magic at the beast and he roars, clapping his hands together and sending them both reeling back into the ground.

Hulk turns to Steve who is now standing beside him with his hand resting on the side of his huge leg. Steve only comes up to below his knee, but the small child looks up at him and smiles. Hulk kneels down next to Steve and holds out his gigantic fist to him and Steve bumps his tiny fist against Hulks before giggling at him. The monster smiles at the little kid, but his smile is gone when he feels the familiar sting of Amora's magic. Hulk protectively holds Steve in his arms, shielding him from Amora's attacks. Hulk quickly makes his way over to the pile of rocks that had nearly crushed Steve. He grabs a huge boulder in his hand and launches it across the room toward Amora. The two dive out of the way, but the impact of the boulder slamming into the wall behind them throws them forward and covers them in debris.

Steve and Hulk knuckle bump again and Steve gives Hulk's huge arm a big hug as he sets him back down onto the ground.

"Hey, if you guys are done with your 'touchy-feely-bonding moment, I could use some help over here, Hulk!" Tony yells when Loki brings his feet up and kicks Iron Man off of him and Tony flies into a nearby wall.

Hulk growls and charges at the puny god in a full force run when the ground beneath him rises up and pins his arm against the wall. Hulk struggles to break free when he sees Hel walk into the room with a grim smile on her face. She holds up her boney hand and brings up another section of rock to pin his other arm. Hulk roars and breaks his right arm free so he can punch and smash the waves of rocky attacks that Hel is sending toward him.

Loki sees his opening and rushes for Steve who is trying to climb back up the stairs. He reaches out and grabs onto Steve's leg and Steve yells while he hangs onto the stairs against the man's hold. Loki's grip is broken when he's hit in the chest with an exploding arrow.

"Damn, that felt good," Clint smiles from the ledge above Steve. "Let's do that again." Clint unleashes another exploding arrow at Loki's feet and the blast sends him flying across the room, crashing into Hel who was keeping the Hulk at bay. The two crash to the ground and Hulk rips his arm free of the stone restraining him.

Natasha jumps down from behind Clint and gathers Steve up off of the ground. Steve buries his face into her shoulder and hugs her tight. Natasha wraps her arm around him and squeezes him back, whispering to him to help calm him. Tony is quickly by their side as he fires a missile at Amora who is running toward them. She ducks and slides under the attack, but Executioner catches it in the chest behind her and is thrown to the ground. Amora glares at Tony and launches herself toward him when Hulk intercepts her and shoulder checks her into the ground.

Tony turns to see Steve clinging to Natasha and the normally cold assassin holding him tightly and trying to calm him. "Mary Poppins!" Tony steps forward and points at the Widow dramatically. Natasha frowns at the inventor and grabs his finger and twists it backwards and he yelps in pain before she releases him. "Mean Mary Poppins," he glares and holds his finger protectively away from her.

Thor lands in front of the two Avengers with his hammer held tightly and ready for battle while the rest of the Avengers regroup around Steve. Loki, Amora, Executioner, and Hel all regroup as well and the two sides stare each other down.

"Brother," Thor frowns. "What hand do you have in this evil?"

"You and your Avengers forced my hand," Loki smiles. "I tried to steal your young Captain peacefully and without confrontation, but that fool, Watermen, failed me."

"You are the one the Man of Water is working for," Thor roars and Loki only laughs.

"Yes, and we could have avoided all of this if your Captain had just come peacefully. So just hand him over to me and we can all put this mess behind us."

"We're not letting any of you take Steve, so you all might as well surrender while you still have a face to talk with," Tony threatens.

"Big talk from someone who is hopelessly outmatched," Amora narrows her eyes at the Iron Avenger.

"Outmatched?" Tony scoffs. "You do realize who you're facing off with right now, right?"

"Do you?" Hel asks with an unnerving smirk.

Tony doesn't like the fact that they're so confident with their threats. They're outnumbered, they don't have Steve, and the sun is going to rise and end the winter solstice in less than an hour. His suspicions are confirmed when the ground beneath them begins to shake.

"Loki," Amora practically spits as she speaks his name. "If you have any hope of walking out of this battle of your own accord, you will fight along side us." Loki stares at the woman in disgust and quickly goes over all of the possible outcomes with his quick mind. He nods in agreement after a moment and turns his attention back to the Avengers.

Hel raises her hands again and the ground starts to bow in the center of the room. The ground pulls away from itself and forms into a rocky arm and claw as it slams into the ground. The arm pushes down on the ground until a large body and head break free. The body is shaped like a bull with large shoulders and a more narrow back half where a long tail swings freely. There are stoney spikes projecting out of its back in a crooked line and its face is just a rough rectangle with jagged rocks lining the opening that looks like a mouth. Dust and rubble rain down as the beast shakes itself free from the ground, leaving a deep pit in the center of the cavern.

The beast climbs out of the pit and stands at it's full height in front of them. Even the Hulk has to look up to see the face of the beast.

"Well, that's not good," Clint quietly states. "Thor, what is this thing?"

"It is a Ragnarok," Thor answers grimly. An ancient being used to bring about the destiny of the gods. Hel has summoned it using a great deal of her magic. She is the only one who can control it and it will only be defeated when either the desire of the god who summoned it is fulfilled or by the sacrifice of a life.

"Wait, so the only way to destroy this thing is for someone to die?" Tony yells.

"Aye," Thor answers.

"Who made that stupid rule?" Tony throws his hands up in frustration before he lowers it to silence Thor before he answers. "You know what? Never mind. Not important because none of us are dying today. We're going to take this thing down. Avengers! Assemble!"

The Avengers focus their attacks on the Ragnarok. Repulser blasts, lightning, and giant green fists come raining down upon the monster while Clint and Natasha guard Steve against the three remaining demi-gods.

"Steve, I need you to stay here behind the stairs, okay?" Natasha looks Steve in the eye and the small child nods and does as he's told. Clint and Natasha run out to cut off the three gods before they make it to Steve. Clint takes on Executioner when the man charges after him with his axe swinging. The archer skillfully drops to his knees and slides across the ground and limbos under the axe as it skims over his face. He spins around with lightning quick reflexes and fires an arrow into his back that sends a powerful jolt of electricity through him. The man drops to the ground, but Clint knows he won't stay down for long.

Natasha takes on Amora and Loki on her own while Clint is dealing with Executioner. She fires her guns at Amora while the witch ducks behind a pile of debris that has fallen sometime during the chaos. Natasha keeps her pinned when a repulser blast flies over her head, so close that Natasha can feel the heat as it flies by, and hits Loki square in the chest before he is able to attack Natasha. Loki is sent reeling back into the wall by the blast. Natasha nods to Tony and he gives her a mock salute before he flies over head back toward the Ragnarok.

Hel stands under the Ragnarok laughing as she wills the beast to destroy the Avengers. Hulk is hitting the monster as hard as he can, but he isn't rewarded with even so much as a dent in the stone. Tony and Thor are not faring any better as they fires blast after blast and bolt after bolt at it. Nothing is slowing it down and the Avengers are running out of options.

When they thought that the situation couldn't get much worse, the beast rears up onto its back legs, breaking through the ceiling of the cavern to reveal the night sky. The ceiling breaks into pieces that rain down onto the Avengers. Thor and Tony are pinned under the rubble on the floor of the cave while Hulk is thrown off of the beast's back and into the ground. Clint and Natasha have been backed into a corner and are surrounded by the Loki and Executioner while Hel stands under the beast who is straddling the pit he rose out of and roars in victory.

Amora grabs Steve out from his hiding spot behind the stairs and carries him forward in her tight grip.

"Leave him alone!" Clint orders when Executioner shoves the edge of his axe in his face, silently ordering him to keep quiet.

"It is over, Avengers," Hel cackles. "Do you have anything to say before you die?"

"You won't get away with this," Tony yells as he and Thor start to break free from under the rocks.

"Oh, but I will," Hel smiles and with once glance, she orders the Ragnarok to pin the two Avengers under it's giant claw. "Destroy them."

"No!" Steve yells and he kicks Amora in the leg like he had before and she drops him as she screams in anger and pain. Without hesitation, Steve runs forward.

"Steve!" Tony yells from under the monster's claw when he sees what Steve is doing. "Stop! Don't do it!"

Steve doesn't listen. He launches himself into Hel sending them both tumbling over the edge of the pit. It all happens in a split second and the Avengers all watch in complete shock.

"Steve!" Tony screams from under the claw. Thor and Tony fight with all of their strength, fueled by anger and sorrow as they watch Steve tumble over the edge. Clint and Natasha charge the two demi-gods with reckless abandon, tackling them to the ground. Hulk roars, but this time there is sadness woven into the anger as he charges at the Ragnarok. He breaks through the arm that is pinning Tony and Thor and the beast cries out and starts to crumble all around them. The green beast lands on the ground and yells once more as the Hulks angry roar turns into Bruce's as he changes back. Bruce leans heavily against the wall, overwhelmed with grief.

"The beast is defeated. Hel has been destroyed and a sacrifice has been made,' Thor announces grimly and watches the beast fall into a pile of stone as though it was never alive to begin with. He turns to find his brother, but the sly god has slipped away unnoticed yet again.

Tony flies over to the edge of the pit before he falls to his hands and knees and yells out in anger, his heart breaking at the loss of his friend. The first rays of light start to shine, chasing away the darkness and the stars and replacing them with the soft pinks and purples that mark the start to a new day.

"Come, Executioner," Amora hisses. "There is nothing here for us any longer."

"No!" Clint yells through tears. "You don't get to leave after what you just did!" He dives after them, but only passes through their bodies as they fade away. "No! Cowards!" He screams as he stands. Natasha is by his side and holds him tightly, grounding him as she looks at him with tears streaking her face.

Tony looks over the edge of the pit to stare down into the darkness that has taken his best friend from him. His heart skips a beat when looks down and he sees Steve's body laying a ways down on a ledge. He immediately jumps down and scoops up the still child and flies back up to the surface. The Avengers all rush over to Tony and Bruce kneels down to look Steve over.

"Steve?" Bruce calls. "Can you hear me?"

"JARVIS, what's Steve's status?"

"His injuries are extensive, Sir." The AI answers.

"How extensive," Tony pushes.

"Sir, I…"

"JARVIS!" Tony yells.

"He has been mortally wounded, Sir," the AI finally reports and the Avengers all feel their hearts sink.

Steve is so still. His breaths are coming in quick, shallow breaths. They all know it's only a matter of time now.

"I'm so sorry, Steve," Tony lifts the faceplate on his helmet to look down at Steve.

Steve stirs slightly. "Tony?"

"Hey, Steve," he answers gently. "I'm here. I've got you."

"Did we win?" Steve whispers as his eyes open just enough for Tony to see blue peeking out. "Is everyone okay?"

"Yeah, kid. We won. We won and we're all okay because of you," Tony whispers back.

"Good," Steve sighs and he closes his eyes. "Can we go home now?" His question is so quiet, Tony can hardly hear him.

"Yeah, we can go home," Tony answers back just as quietly. The rapid rise and fall of his little chest stops and Tony pulls him closer against his chest and bows his head as the tears flow freely down his face.

Thor falls to his knees in grief and disbelief while Bruce can only sit on the ground as holds his face in his hand. Natasha buries her face into Clint's shoulder and Clint turns his head away to hide his tears.

The light of the new morning begins to shine brightly through the ceiling and the sun warms the cold, dark cavern where so much evil and heartache has happened.

In their sadness the Avengers almost don't notice the light starting to shine around Steve's body. Tony pulls away, startled by the light. He gently lays Steve on the ground and backs away, unsure of what's happening. The other Avengers turn to Steve, but quickly have to shield their eyes as the light grows more and more blinding. Just as it was before, the light is gone as fast as it had appeared. Tony blinks and looks down to where he had laid little Steve down. He can hardly believe his eyes when he sees adult Steve laying there instead.

"Steve!" Tony cries. He and Bruce are at his side instantly while Thor removes his cape and lays it over Steve's body. Bruce lays his finger on his neck and dares to hope.

"He's got a pulse. It's weak, but it's there," He announces and tears fall from his eyes, this time from joy instead of heartache.

"How is that possible?" Clint asks, completely overwhelmed at the whirlwind of events.

"Love," Thor smiles and glances at Tony who just stares at him incredulously "Steven's love for his team was shown by his actions this day. There is no greater act of love than for one to lay his life down for the sake of his friends. Steven was willing to give his life for us and us for him. It is that great love that has defeated the curse."

Tony stares at the demi-god for a moment in complete shock. "Well I'll be damned," Tony finally answers. "Disney was right."

"We need to get him back to the helicarrier to stabilize him," Bruce finally brings a voice of reason to the shocked team and Tony gently lifts Steve off of the ground.

"Heimdall!" Thor calls and the Avengers all gather around him. "Open the Bifrost. We are bringing our Captain home."


	10. Chapter 10

**This is the last chapter in Young America! I am so sad to see this story come to an end, but excited to start on new projects. Please check out my new story "Don't Wake Me" where we will dive into Steve's relationship and what might have been with Peggy as well as this relationships with the Avengers. If everything comes together as I envision is will be a good angsty/romantic/all-of-the-feels story! **

** Also, this is my first complete multi-chapter fan fiction and I would love to hear what you thought about it: what you liked, what you didn't like, what you would change, etc so my future stories can improve. Thank you for joining in on my little Steve adventure and enjoy the last chapter! **

**Young America - Chapter 10**

Tony had been flying down the hall with Steve in his arms, Thor's cape still covering his body, until his repulsers finally died out from all the damage done to his suit. Now he's running down the hall with his suit on auxiliary power. The team landed on the helicarrier and Tony didn't even bother to wait for the medical team. He just grabbed Steve and rushed for the medical bay, leaving his fellow Avengers in the dust.

"You know what? I am getting real tired of bringing you here, Spangles," Tony pants. "You gotta stop making this into a habit."

The billionaire looks down at Steve. He hasn't made a peep or stirred at all since the horrifying ordeal in Neflheim. Normally a fall like the one he took would be nothing and Steve probably would have climbed up out of the hole on his own accord, but he took the hit as mini-Steve and Tony is worried about how serious his injuries are.

Tony bursts into the medical bay and runs down the hall and into the ICU. "I need some help over here!" he yells.

"We would have brought the help to you if you had given us two seconds to get to the landing bay," one of the nurses scolds.

"Yeah, but I'm way faster than you guys," Tony answers as he lays Steve down on a stretcher. "Plus, now you can't tell me I can't come with him since I'm already here." The nurse shoots him a look, but Tony shoots one straight back and stands firmly by Steve's side. He's not leaving him this time.

"Fine," the nurse finally surrenders, seeing she's not winning this battle and Fury's not here to back her up this time. "Just stay over there." She points to a corner of the room where he will be out of the way.

Tony moves to his appointed corner and watches the nurses work on Steve. They're all running around and hooking him up to what looks like every monitor they have in the helicarrier. Relief instantly washes over Tony when he hears that steady beep come from the heart rate monitors. It's slow, but it's there and that's all that matters right now.

The rest of the time he's in the ICU is a blur. The nurses are working furiously to get Steve stabilized and the doctor has arrived. She looks Steve over and orders a barrage of tests. Steve is whisked away to another part of the hospital and Tony is left in the still silence.

* * *

The first thing Steve is aware of is the sterile smell of oxygen flooding his lungs. It's cold and dries out his throat every time he takes a breath. Annoying, monotonous beeps start fill the room and they are accompanied by the muffled sounds of people talking. Their voices are low and it's obvious they're not talking to him which is good because Steve doesn't feel like talking right now. All he wants is a drink of water to sooth his dry throat, but he's still so tired and his whole body aches.

He sighs heavily and entertains the thought of just going back to sleep. Someone must have noticed him starting to come around because someone is squeezing his shoulder. It sounds like the voices are talking to him now, but they sound so far away and he can't tell what they're saying. The hand on his shoulder starts shaking him and Steve can't ignore the annoying movement and he furrows his brow. He can hear the voices becoming more and more clear.

"Steve," one of the muffled voices calls. "Come on, Spangles. Wake up."

"Come on, Cap," another voice encourages.

"Steve!" a voice yells and Steve frowns as his sore body is shaken again.

"Stop shaking him, Clint," a voice scolds.

"I'm trying to help him wake up."

"He shall wake when he is ready, Archer. His body is weary from the battle and he needs rest."

"Is it weird that he's still out? Shouldn't he have woken up by now?"

"His Super Soldier serum is still trying to replenish itself so it's going to take him longer to heal."

"Maybe someone really does need to kiss him for him to wake up."

"Don't be ridiculous, Tony."

"I have researched this Disney man and he does not understand true magic, Stark. He is mistaken and his stories are most disturbed. In one he speaks of a fair maiden living in the woods with seven tiny men. And in another a wench rides in a vegetable to a celebration after a fairy transforms her dress that was made by rodents. Most disturbing.

"I think you might be missing the point to those movies."

Steve seriously considers whether or not he really wants to wake up or not to this ridiculousness. It would be so easy to just go back to sleep.

"I'm sticking with Thor's theory. I was skeptical at first, but obviously it worked. Who's kissing him? Clint? Natasha?"

The billionaire grunts after what Steve can only assume was Natasha punching him.

"No one's kissing me," Steve mumbles through the oxygen mask. He finally decides that waking up to the insanity is better than the possibility of someone kissing him. Especially since he had an 80% chance of being kissed by a guy. Steve slowly opens his eyes, squinting against the harsh light that floods in. He blinks a few times to try to bring his surroundings into focus, but everything is so fuzzy.

"Took you long enough," Tony snarks. Steve tries to focus on the billionaire standing on his right. "We've been patiently waiting for you to wake up."

"It didn't sound very patient" Steve practically whispers. His voice is rasp and rough. "How long was I out?"

"Three years," Tony answers. Steve snaps out of his haze and his eyes widen in horror as he nearly flies up out of the bed, but he stops suddenly as his side and shoulder scream out in protest. Steve holds his arm close to his chest and winces.

"Whoa," Tony holds his hands up to stop him from going any further. "I was kidding!" Tony yells as he and Clint gently lower Steve back to the bed.

"Not funny, Tony," Natasha frowns.

"What? How am I supposed to know that he'd be extra gullible after waking up?" Tony shrugs before turning to Steve who still looks confused and panicked. "Sorry Spangles. You've only been out for a couple days."

"What happened?" Steve asks hoarsely as he takes in his surroundings. For the first time he's aware that his torso is wrapped tightly from his waist up to his chest and his leg has been splinted. With each heart beat comes a dull throb of pain through his whole body and his head is pounding and his mind is fuzzy.

"Do you remember anything?" Bruce asks slowly while he pours the injured Captain a glass of water.

"I remember being in the cave with Amora," Steve mumbles as Tony slowly raises the back of the bed so Steve can sit up and Bruce offers Steve a glass of water. He takes a big drink before Bruce takes it away and his throat instantly feels better. "She had you all trapped in a cage and she made me drink something."

"That's all you remember?" Natasha asks and Steve nods.

"Why? What else happened?" Steve asks with concern and the Avengers exchange glances.

"Well," Clint starts. "She kind of…turned you into a kid."

"What?" Steve asks flatly.

"I'm your new daddy!" Tony smiles proudly. "You picked me out yourself." Steve just stares at the man in disbelief.

"Is he serious?" Steve turns to the other Avengers in confusion.

"I'm afraid so," Clint gives the soldier an empathetic smile. "But you said no, Tony," Clint points out as he shoots Tony a look.

"You said no?" Steve looks at Tony, partially hurt and partially horrified that he asked Tony such a ridiculous question and he can't even remember it.

"I said no to the title of 'father'," Tony admits. "But I told you I would be your big brother." Steve just stares at him. "What? I couldn't say no to you! You gave me those stupid, sad blue eyes and I had to give you something. So I compromised and now we're brothers."

"I can't believe this is happening," Steve tips his head back to stare at the ceiling. "What the heck is this?" Steve asks when he suddenly feels a fuzzy stuffed dog laying next to him.

"That's Bart," Clint smiles.

"Who?" Steve frowns.

"Bart. You named him after Barton," Natasha sticks her thumb toward Clint. "He won him for you at Coney."

"That dog has been dragged everywhere with you for the last week," Bruce laughs.

"Look, here's a picture of you hugging him while you took a nap the other day," Tony smiles and holds his phone up to Steve.

"Oh good Lord," Steve sighs.

"You were a pretty cute kid," Natasha smiles and puts a comforting hand on Steve's shoulder. "You called me Tasha," She smiles and Steve blushes in embarrassment.

"You helped me to build a fort of blankets and we fought valiantly in the Great Pillow War with Barton," Thor beams.

"You and the Hulk fist bumped after we kicked Amora's butt a couple days ago," Bruce smiles at the memory.

"And you slept in mine and Clint's bed the other day when you had a bad dream," Natasha adds.

"Why would you tell me that?" Steve sighs in complete embarrassment.

"Why would you tell him that?" Clint yells right after, also blushing.

"It was cute," Natasha shrugs.

"Much has happened since the last day you remember, Steven," Thor adds. Steve just stares at them for a moment, shaking his head. He can't tell if they're all pulling a big joke on him or if they're really telling the truth and his mind is too exhausted to decide.

"It's all a really long story and you should get some rest. We can tell you everything later," Bruce says as he starts to scoot everyone out of the room.

The Avengers get up to leave so Steve can rest and he can already feel himself starting to fall asleep. He's almost sleeping again when Tony turns back in the door way.

"Steve?"

"Yeah?" Steve answers softly.

"I am your father," Tony replies in the deepest voice he can muster.

"Shut up, Tony," Steve mumbles before falling asleep.

**0000000000000**

Steve wakes up that evening to a quiet room. Much more quiet than the last time. Only the beeping of the hospital equipment and the soft background noise of the television greet him.

He looks over to see Clint sitting next to him, flipping through the channels on the television.

"Where is everyone?" Steve asks sleepily.

"They all went back to the Tower to rest. I'm you're night watchmen for the next couple hours," Clint answers and flips the television off. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired. Achy," Steve grimaces as he shifts to get more comfortable when Clint raises the back of the bed so he can sit up. "But it could be worse."

"Could be worse," Clint huffs and stares at the floor.

"Something bothering you?" Steve frowns. "Listen, I won't ever breathe a word of that bed story to anyone, believe me…"

"It's not that, Steve," Clint starts. Steve stops and looks at the man intently. "When you were turned into a kid you told me some things. We had a pretty serious talk that night when I found you in the elevator." Steve winces in embarrassment again.

"Clint, whatever I said, it's not important. I'm really sorry that I put you in an uncomfortable position."

"It's not that, Cap. Look, I didn't want to pry into your history, but it just kind of came up. I don't really know how to start this," Clint rubs the back of his neck nervously. "Look, I'm just going to come right out and ask. Why didn't you ever tell us about your father?" Steve looks at Clint for a moment in shock before turning his gaze down to his hands. His expression is a look of shame mixed with anger, but not anger directed at Clint.

"It's not a big deal," Steve mumbles. "It's not something I never thought needed to be known. It happened a long time ago."

"Steve, have you ever talked to anyone about this?

"No. Like I said, it's in the past. It's not a big deal."

"It is a big deal."

"No, it's not," Steve answers firmly. "It's over and done with."

"There's nothing wrong with opening up a little. It's okay to rely on someone every once in a while," Clint shoots back. "There's nothing you could have done."

"You don't know that. You don't understand," Steve replies angrily and stares at the floor, lost in the past.

"Then tell me. Explain it to me, Steve," Clint replies and Steve just closes his eyes, his brows furrowed."The five-year-old I talked to in the kitchen that night was terrified of his father. Please explain to me what the hell he could have possibly done in that situation! Or how the fact that his father is a bastard and beats him and his mother is somehow his fault, because you're right. I don't understand that! "

"My weaknesses caused everything!" Steve yells, his emotions coming to the surface. "My illnesses and my weaknesses strained my family to the breaking point. We barely kept food on the table and a roof over our heads and to top it all off we had to somehow scrape enough money together to buy medicine for me. My mother had to work three jobs to supports our family. I was a burden to her. I drove my father to drink because he had to watch my mother fall apart because of me." Tears start to well in Steve's eyes and he winces as he holds his arm against his broken ribs.

"That man came home drunk and hit my mother almost every night. He was a monster." Steve stares down at the bandages around his torso, remembering the fear and the hurt he felt as a child before he turns is gaze back to Clint who is standing completely still and listening intently. "I'm done with being weak, Clint." Steve stands shakily, tired of being trapped in this bed. Tired of being brought back to being limited by injuries and fragility. He rips out the IV in his arm and pulls the probes attached to his chest under his scrub top that track his vitals and the wail of hospital monitors fills the room.

"Steve! Stop! What the hell are you doing?" Clint yells and tries to stop him.

"No, I'm done with this," Steve pushes the Archer away and Clint walks away before turning back around to face Steve, obviously frustrated. "I'm done not being enough. She gave everything for me and I couldn't protect her or myself and I did nothing to stop it." Steve uses a nearby chair to steady himself while Clint can only stand by and watch. He lets Steve get it all out. He just lets him talk because that's what he needs right now.

"All I could do was hide in that damn bathroom and hope that he wouldn't come for me. I sat under our sink and listened to every slap and every scream from her and covered my ears, praying that it would all end. I let him do that to her. And when he finally came for me all I could do was sit there and take it. Every punch. Every kick. Every word he yelled at me about being useless, weak, and worthless. It was all true. I failed to stop any of it." Steve's strength is spent and he leans heavily on the chair for support, breathing heavily through the anger, shame, and pain.

"Steve, you were a damn kid," Clint frowns. "It wasn't your job to protect your mother. It was your father's job to protect you and her and he failed. Miserably."

"I should have done more," Steve answers quietly. "There's no room for moments of weakness. Not for me. There's no more room for moments of selfishness, pity, or worthlessness. It's in those moments that the people who count on you get hurt. She was counting on me and I let her down." Steve crumples to the floor and leans against the wall, placing his forehead in his hand.

"Steve…"

"No, just don't. You just don't get it," Steve mumbles from the floor.

"You're wrong. I do get it." Clint cuts him off and kneels in front of him. "I do. Believe me. I understand the feeling of being completely helpless while a man 4 times your size beats the shit out of you. I understand the horror of watching someone you care about being hurt and there's not a damn thing you can do to stop it and I understand the pain of loving someone who is supposed to love you back, but only brings you pain and suffering." Clint can feel his eyes water, his face get hot and his voice wavering. A long pause of silence passes between the two men before Steve finally speaks.

"I'm sorry," Steve says shamefully. "I didn't know."

"Well, I guess that you're not the only one guilty of not being more open." Clint hangs his head low.

Clint scoots closer to Steve. "Steve?" Steve keeps his gaze on the floor, avoiding Clint's eyes as the guilt consumes him. Clint knows the thoughts going through Steve's head because those same thoughts ran through his head when he was left broken and hurting by his father. When Steve doesn't answer he grabs Steve up in a hug and the battered soldier is shocked and unsure of what to do. He holds his arms out awkwardly as Clint wraps his arm around his neck, trying to avoid Steve's injured shoulder and ribs.

"I told you this before in the kitchen, Steve," Clint's voice is firm and steady this time. "It's never been your fault. It never has and never will be your fault. Those choices your father and my father made were theirs and theirs alone. He lied to you, Steve. You're not weak. You're not a burden and you're not worthless. Never in your life have you been anything close to that." Steve can feel himself breaking and he hugs Clint back, ignoring the burning in his ribs and shoulder as he wraps his arms around the Archer. "No matter what that man told you, you are stronger and braver than you know. You saved all of us a couple days ago. You laid yourself down on the line and you saved us, not as Captain America, but as Steve Rogers. You are enough, Steve and you don't deserve anything that happened to you. Do you understand me?" He asks just like he did with that scared five-year-old only a few days ago. This time there's no answer from Steve.

"Steve. Do you understand me?" Clint pulls away and looks Steve in the eye.

"Yeah," Steve whispers. "Yeah, I do."

"Good," Clint answers. The Archer slides Steve's good arm over his shoulder and helps to lift him off of the floor and back into the hospital bed and Steve grimaces as his sore body settles. Clint grabs a blanket and throws it over him. Steve's emotionally and physically spent and he starts to fall asleep almost right away.

"You carry the weight of the world on your shoulders, Cap, but you don't have to carry it alone. That's why you have us."

* * *

The doctors on the Helicarrier discharge Steve the next day. The serum is still not at 100% and his body is sore, battered, and he's on crutches until his leg fully heals, but he's starting to very slowly feel better. Tony picks him up in the Quinjet and they are getting ready to take off. Steve is ready to go home.

"What's this?" Steve asks when Tony turns on the stereo in the Quinjet and a familiar voice comes over the speakers.

"Listen," Tony answers with a smile.

"Dick Tracy?" Steve asks with a confused look.

"Thought you might like a blast from the past on our way home."

"This used to be my favorite show growing up."

"You don't say," Tony grins. The two listen to the radio show all the way back home. Tony lands the Quinjet on top of the tower and they ride the elevator down to the main floor penthouse.

"Hey! Hope you're hungry, Cap," Bruce greets.

"I am," Steve smiles as he limps into the room and something smells delicious. "Is that…."

"A steak dinner from the finest restaurant in New York City?" Tony interrupts. "Yes, yes it is. We're having dinner together tonight to celebrate."

"Tony, you really shouldn't have."

"Nonsense. I was in the mood for a good steak."

"Thank you, Tony," Steve smiles in appreciation.

"Welcome home, Steve," Pepper walks up and give him a big hug.

"Thanks, Pepper."

"Are we going to have a group hug or are we going to eat some steak here?" Clint asks while he eyes the delicious looking meal on the table.

"Alright, lets eat!" Tony claps his hands together.

The Avengers sit down and enjoy their dinner together. They laugh and reminisce over the last week with kid-Steve and adult-Steve spends most of the night blushing.

"Bruce nearly killed you," Tony accuses and Steve swings his head to look at Bruce.

"I most certainly did not," Bruce gives Tony a look of betrayal. "One of Tony's defective inventions nearly killed you." Steve's confused look turns to Tony.

"The point is, I got you your inhaler in time and everything was fine." Tony puts his hands up in the air. "And Bruce ran up the stairs faster than he ever has in his entire life."

"Yeah, you still need to get a second elevator," Bruce can feel himself getting short of breath just thinking about it.

"You know who's real swell?" Clint interrupts. "Me. We kicked it at Coney and had a great time."

"Real swell?" Steve asks with his brow raised.

"Hey, you said it, not me." Clint laughs and Steve blushes, completely aghast that his 1930's slang came out when he was a kid. "But what we need to remember is that i am the only one to have a stuffed animal named in my honor by kid-Steve." Clint beams and holds up Bart.

"Ugh, that dog," Steve frowns.

"You were so cute with Bart," Pepper melts. "I will never forget seeing you for the first time. You had such big cheeks and you were so teeny!" Steve turns a deeper shade of red and Tony rolls his eyes.

"Yes, you were such a cute, deprived little child," Tony adds. "How in the hell have you only ever eaten 3 cookies in your entire life?"

"What?" Steve asks. "Food was expensive and cookies were reserved for special occasions."

"You're eating more cookies from now on," Tony points at Steve. "And steak. Eat your steak."

"The best kid-Steve moment was when we kicked Clint's butt on the race track," Natasha smiles.

"I went easy on you because you had a kid in your car," Clint defends. "Trust me. If it had been just you and me on the track it would have gone down differently."

"Sure it would have," Natasha smirks.

"My fondest memory of young Steven was when we taught him the ways of a warrior. You were most adept at learning how to fight as a child," Thor roars.

"Yeah, you punched Clint in the butt," Natasha and Thor laugh.

"Once again, I went easy on him," Clint points out.

"Sorry Clint," Steve blushes again.

"Alright, even though watching Steve squirm with embarrassment for the last two hours has been entertaining, it's time to start movie night," Tony stands and everyone gets up and moves into the living area. Clint helps Steve up and hands him his crutches. Steve nods in thanks and Clint smiles back while the two slowly make their way to the couch.

Steve gingerly sits on the couch and leans back into the soft cushions. Tony and Pepper curl up next to each other on the sofa while Clint and Natasha take the love seat. Thor and Bruce sit on either side of Steve and Tony flips on the television.

"What are we watching?" Steve asks.

"A little movie about a guy named James Bond," Tony smiles and presses play on the remote. "Casino Royal, circa 1953 to be exact."

"Great movie!" Clint points to Tony and Tony points back in a show of unity on the awesomeness of Bond.

The movie plays out and Steve actually really enjoys it. There aren't many movies that Tony makes him watch that he legitimately likes, but he likes this one. The movie come to an end and the Avengers all start debating which Bond is the best. Tony argues that _Golden Eye_ is the king of all Bond movies while Natasha makes her case for _Die Another Day_. Clint accuses her of liking the movie solely because of Pierce Brosnan which she firmly denies. Bruce fights for _License to kill_ while Thor tries to wrap his head around having permission to kill. Bruce tires to explain the movie to him, but eventually gives up.

The group goes back and fourth and soon they start the debate of new films versus the older classics and Steve starts to feel himself nodding. He finally gives in and lets his head rest against he back of the couch with his arms folded across his chest. The debating continues on, but starts to fade into the background.

Tony stands and grabs the blanket off of the back of the sofa and lays it over Steve.

"Are we watching another movie?" Steve mumbles, but keeps his eyes closed.

"Yeah," Tony looks around and everyone nods in agreement. "I think we can watch one more."

"Great," Steve sighs.

Tony starts the second Bond movie and slowly the Avengers drift off to sleep, one by one. Tony is the last one awake and stands to turn off the lights.

"Rest easy, Cap," Tony sets Bart next to Steve on the couch. "We've got your back."


End file.
